


Omega

by iamisaac



Series: Omega [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alpha Teddy Lupin, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anal Sex, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Biting, Community: hp_nextgen_fest, Dubious Consent, Harry Potter Next Generation, Knotting, M/M, Marking, Mates, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega James Sirius Potter, Omega Verse, Professor Teddy Lupin, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-20 12:04:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 59,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8248108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamisaac/pseuds/iamisaac
Summary: When James Sirius Potter unexpectedly presents as an Omega, two months after his seventeenth birthday, his life is uprooted. From being one of the most admired young men at Hogwarts, he is now the most despised. For as ‘everybody’ knows, Omegas are the lowest of the low, only good for sex and babies*...





	

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my gods, my beta. Is amazing. Beta, cheerleader, plot-assister, everything. I am unendingly grateful – thank you, honey! 
> 
> *no mpreg, I promise, though the possibility is mentioned.

James was seventeen and two months old when his life fell apart.

He had known – he had been told – that it would take a while after he stopped taking the hormone suppressants before his nature would demonstrate itself. That was fine. Everyone at Hogwarts knew about that. You took the suppressants until your 17th birthday; then, as part of the rites of adulthood, you stopped. In the months following, you grew into your true self – Alpha or Beta. If you were a Beta, nothing much changed. But if you were an Alpha – and James had always known that he would be an Alpha – you would begin to experience some physical changes. He hadn't thought about it much for the first month, not worrying when his cock didn't begin to form a knot at the base; when his sense of smell stayed stubbornly the same as it had always been. These things took time. It didn't mean that he was a Beta. 

In the second month, he was pretty sure that his sense of smell was growing more acute. He had some sense of the scent of students around him, and he could tell which of those who were of age were Alphas, which Betas. Most were, in fact, up-front about it; but he was pretty sure that he’d have been able to tell anyway. So, all was proceeding as normal. The books seemed to say that the knotting should happen simultaneously, and James had to acknowledge that there was no difference in his cock: it stayed stubbornly the same shape and size as it had ever been. But that was fine. Clearly it wasn't quite as all-at-once as the books said.

When the weird feeling started, halfway through a Charms class, James was quite intrigued by it. His – well, all right, to be blunt, his _cock_ was beginning to twitch. To get hard, quite frankly. This was sort of fascinating: no one had ever said that this was part of what happened when it began to grow its knot, but okay. It kind of made sense, in its own way. But then his skin began to prickle as well, as if someone were running their fingers over it very, very lightly. The sort of lightness which ought not to be noticeable but somehow was shivery-noticeable all the same. It was making his cock harder by the second, and he was doing his best to listen to Flitwick talk about the importance of diction when reciting spells but... bloody hell, did all Alphas think about sex like this all the time? This would pass, right? He wasn't going to spend the rest of his life in a constant state of arousal thinking about all the guys he wanted? 

(James had known he was gay for a couple of years now, ever since he realised he had a crush on his god-brother Teddy, which thankfully he'd managed to keep hidden alongside his orientation. It wasn't that he was embarrassed that he was gay – well, not much – but since the hormone suppressants meant that he didn't really have much of a sex drive, there didn't seem to be much point in opening that whole can of worms. Especially when Teddy was... well, almost family, and the fact that James had fallen for him like a ton of bricks would make things horribly awkward were it to be known.)

He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his racing thoughts and the embarrassing betrayal of his body. Three or four of the other students were looking round at him, and he gave a faint smile at them, trying to look like he was fine. No, really, quite fine. 

“Mr Potter?” Flitwick squeaked.

James blinked dazed eyes at his teacher and tried to look as if he was listening. “Um, yeah?”

There was a weird sticky feeling in his arse. What the fuck was going on there? And whilst his cock was definitely very, very erect, why was his mind lingering on the thought of being fucked? On having someone's cock thrust a long way up inside him, taking him; owning him. _Owning_ him? James shook his head, trying to clear his mind a bit. This was too bloody peculiar.

“James...” Kevin Hawthorne, a Hufflepuff whom James barely knew except to know that he was thick as two short planks when it came to Charms-work, and it was a miracle he'd ever made it into the NEWTs class, had moved up beside him and put a hand on his thigh.

A hand. On his thigh. And the worst thing was, instead of wanting Kevin to take it off, James was quite turned on by the action. Part of the knotting process, he told himself quickly. Nothing else. Except Kevin was an Alpha (and proud of it) so why the hell was he hitting on another Alpha? Everyone knew that dual-Alpha relationships paved the road to disaster. (A pity. Another thing that put Teddy totally off-limits: he'd been the fastest presenting Alpha the school had ever known, according to popular rumour. James had tried not to feel second rate for taking this long over the process in comparison.)

“Is Potter...?” Another guy James had only probably talked to twice had come up on the other side of him and was pressing quite close to his back.

“W-what?” James stammered, standing up and knocking his chair over accidentally. “I – sorry, Professor,” he added, almost by rote.

He realised that the entire class was focused on him, and fuck but this was embarrassing. This wasn't usually what happened. James was pretty sure he'd have noticed if every bloke (or girl, come to that) who turned into an Alpha had brought a class to a standstill. The hands of Kevin and what's-his-name (Adam?) were wandering further, and James could see a few other students approaching him, and what the actual fuck?

Flitwick said a spell, his high voice higher than ever, and suddenly there was a two foot exclusion field around James, and James still didn't know what the hell was going on, except he _still_ had an erection and what the bloody hell was that all about? Mortification was usually the quickest route to deflation he’d ever found, and he was more mortified than ever in his life. 

He realised Flitwick was speaking to him, and he tried to concentrate.

“Sorry?”

“Infirmary. Now,” Flitwick was saying. When James didn't move, he came up through the exclusion zone and gave James a little push, taking his hands away as soon as physically possible. “Now,” the little Professor insisted.

James's crotch actually hurt. He was so hard it was literally painful. He pressed his hands to his groin, and tried not to think about what it must look like to the rest of the class.

“I – don't think – I'm well,” he said.

“You're fine, Potter. Now, the Infirmary,” Flitwick insisted. 

And if that wasn't a mixed message, then James wasn't sure what was. But the students who had been moving towards him were doing so again, and James was suddenly quite definite that he didn't want to be there, not with them, so he stumbled out into the corridor.

“Professor, I -”

“No time. No time,” the Professor said. James was reminded of one of his father's Muggle books, with a white rabbit who said something very similar. “Quickly, boy.”

In truth, James wasn't sure how he got to the Infirmary. When he did get there, however, Madam Pomfrey had a quick, under-toned conversation with Flitwick, and pushed James quickly into a room by himself, shutting the door with unnecessary firmness. James found it hard to care what they were talking about because his skin was on fire, and his cock was... oh god, he couldn't be thinking about his cock, not with Flitwick and Pomfrey just out there. Except he quite clearly was. He moaned, and Madam Pomfrey stuck her head cautiously round the door.

“I will be in with some potions in a moment, James. Now, please, why did you not come when you first started presenting?”

She stayed in the doorway, whilst James was sitting on one of the two chairs in the otherwise empty room, trying to keep his hands away from his bits when all he wanted to do was touch himself. It seemed a curious way to have a conversation about symptoms. He crossed his legs tightly.

“You mean, as an Alpha?” he asked, confused. He'd never heard, ever, that any of the Alphas had to go to Madam Pomfrey when they started getting symptoms.

There was a sadness, a sympathy, in the look she gave him – and a lot of exasperation as well. “No, dear,” she said softly, “as an Omega. Only the second in the school in the last decade.”

James was silenced with shock. And panic. Because no. All right, yes, there were indeed three sorts of witch or wizard – Alpha, Beta and Omega – but no one was an Omega. No one. And definitely not James Sirius Potter. He was aware once again of his hard cock... and of the strange wetness in his arse. As if... it were lubricating itself. As if his body was preparing itself to be fucked – no, worse, to be _bred_. Because Omega wizards had a special... James had always heard it called a 'gift' but 'curse' was the word which was coming to mind right now.... anyway, a special 'thing'. They could get pregnant. Male wizards. Who could get pregnant. No. Just, no.

But that was fine, because James was absolutely not, _absolutely not_ an Omega. This was some sort of sick joke, probably a prank played by one of James's schoolmates, or his brother Al, or something. How they'd got Madam Pomfrey to go along with it, he wasn't sure, but...

“No,” he said, his voice a pathetic shadow of its normal self. “That's – not true.”

“Mr Potter, Professor Flitwick tells me that several people in the class were already trying to claim you when he took you from the classroom,” the Healer said with a snap. 

Claim him? Oh. Claim him. Because Omegas were so bloody 'special'. Oh yes. And when they went into heat, every Alpha in sight – and, given the opportunity, every Beta, for fuck's sake – wanted to fuck them. _That_ was what Kevin Hawthorne had been getting at with his hand on James's thigh. He really had meant what it had seemed like he'd meant. Fucking hell. James said nothing, and Madam Pomfrey sighed sharply and turned away. 

“I will go and get the potions. Contraceptive,” (James winced), “pain relief, and – well, there isn't really anything that has been yet found to deal with the 'other' symptoms, but a Calming Draught might help a little.”

The 'other' symptoms. The fact that not only did every Alpha within sight... or rather, James corrected himself, within _smell_... want to fuck him, but James wanted it too. He wanted – needed – oh god, how he needed someone to have hard, penetrative sex with him. James, who had never actually even kissed another boy, let alone anything more, was now craving a cock up his arse like he'd wanted nothing before in his life. Now the thought had occurred, it was hard to think of anything else. He made another little moaning noise, and Madam Pomfrey disappeared through the door with alarming rapidity. 

Surely she hadn't been thinking of... No, that must just be James's perverted mind. Surely. Of course it was. She was a Healer. And also female, and yes, all right, still they could be interested in Omega males, but he wasn't one so this was clearly not what was going on. It was a fact that the majority of Omegas were homosexual (hence the ability to have babies with other men; female Omegas could, in turn, have children with other women), so James supposed that at least that made some sort of sense of his sexuality. Not that he actually _was_ an Omega. Oh god, who the hell was he trying to fool?

James groaned. There weren’t words for how much he wanted this to be some sort of sick joke. He pressed both of his hands to his groin and rocked back and forth into them, trying to relieve some of the pressure which seemed to be building there. It didn't seem to help much, except when he took his hands away things were even worse. He replaced them, bending himself almost in half as he tried to make his cock just a little bit more manageable.

Madam Pomfrey came in. She placed the potions on the floor inside the room, rather than giving them to him. “Take them,” she said briefly, and left again.

James looked across the room. They were a long way away. He wasn't sure he could move that far, not feeling like this. He needed sex. Oh god, he needed sex. His arse clenched, and released another trickle of liquid, and James breathed out on a long, hissing note. Fuck. Fuck this. He crawled across to the potions and swigged them down. Pain relief. Calming Draught. _Contraception._ That presumably meant that they anticipated him having sex with someone. Thank Merlin for that. Except – that presumably meant that they anticipated him having sex with someone. What the bloody fucking hell?

Then his cock pressed hard against his pants and he didn't care about whether he'd never had sex before, didn't care about anything but the fact that he needed sex and he needed it now. He looked at the potions bottles, tried to balance them on top of each other for some distraction. They fell, broke. He put the pieces back together with his wand and they looked misshapen. Even his magic wasn't working properly. He was too distracted. He was too distracted because he was an Omega and he was craving sex and he was an Omega and this _could not be happening to him._

No. No no no no no. James shook his head. This wasn't right. He was an Alpha. It was quite obvious that he was the sort of person who was born to be an Alpha, just like his father. Al would probably be a Beta, and Lily... actually, Merlin alone knew with Lily, but then, she was only 13 still. Plenty of time before she hit adulthood.

“Aahhhh.” He groaned, and his stupid, family-related thoughts slid from his mind, replaced by the _need_ that was filling him. He was so fucking hard it hurt. And so desperate to be filled. God, someone – something. Please. This was unbearable. Hating himself for his lack of control, he fisted his cock wildly, needing some release. He had the urge to stick his fingers in his arse... his wet, _dripping_ arse, for fuck's sake, which shouldn't happen. This shouldn't happen because he was not, he was goddamn not going to be an Omega. This was not going to happen. _No one_ was an Omega – James was pretty sure there had only been one other in Hogwarts all the years he'd been there ( _”The second in a decade,”_ , Madam Pomfrey's voice said in his mind again). He remembered there being some sort of commotion about it, vaguely, though he’d been a second year and more interested in Quidditch than what was going on with the older school. Of course, as the Hogwarts regulations meant that everyone under 17 was on suppressants, you could only tell that someone was an Omega in Years 6 and 7. Who knew? Perhaps the younger generation were all actually...

His brain broke down as he came, helplessly, and still found himself hard and wanting. He actually felt like sobbing with the frustration. This was awful, it was the worst. He itched and felt heated all over; he tore his clothes off, unable to cope with the sensation of them against his skin. And even knowing that Madam Pomfrey would probably be in again any second with more potions, and she was going to catch him wanking and just the humiliation of the thought of that was unbearable, he still couldn't stop himself, his hand already working his shaft once more...

But when the door opened, it was Albus, not Madam Pomfrey. James curled up in a ball, wishing he could sink through the floor. Even with his brother standing there, he still couldn't take his hand off his cock, though he ceased moving it. He hoped, curled up as he was, Al wouldn't be able to see what he was doing, but he was pretty sure it was fairly clear. Plus, James was naked in a heap, with slick running down his arse and thighs and fuck if this wasn't the worst thing in his entire life.

“Hey, Jamie. Okay?” Al said softly.

Al would rip the piss out of him mercilessly on any usual occasion, but his brother wasn't cruel. He would know how difficult this was for James, and he wasn't here to make it worse. James at least knew that much. And, being younger and still taking suppressants, at least he wasn't going to be _attracted_ to James. James thought he actually might have died in that situation.

“Bloody – great,” James got out, with difficulty, screwing his face up with his efforts not to start beating off in front of his younger brother.

“You do realise half of Years 6 and 7 are trying to break into the Infirmary,” Al said conversationally.

“What the fuck?”

“We-ell, all of them that are Alphas are out there, anyway. There's a fair few Beta girlfriends and boyfriends who are furious. You always did know how to make yourself popular, eh?”

“Albus...”

“Yeah?”

“Not – helping,” James gritted. “Oh _god_ , I just need...” He couldn't finish the sentence. Couldn't tell his brother how much he was desperate to be fucked. At least James had already known he wasn't straight, he supposed. Though there were female Alphas out there, and not all Omegas were gay. Just most of them. But he needed to be fucked, hard. By a cock. By a man. By an Alpha. He choked back a sob, and Al went over to him.

“James, I'm sorry. Trying to help. Lighten the mood and everything.” Al patted his head in a friendly fashion, but James winced away from the touch. He needed a different sort of touch and fucking hell, he did _not_ need it from his brother. “Look,” Al said softly, “they asked me to come and talk to you because they thought it might be a bit less humiliating coming from me than from Madam Pomfrey or McGonagall.” Fuck yes, the idea of McGonagall coming to discuss James's new-found absolute need for cock right now this second was not great. “Plus, of course,” Al added, “even they don't know whether they can trust themselves around you. Even the Betas are interested, though they know they don't have a chance.”

“Thanks,” James muttered. “Not all that fun for you, either, I guess.”

“Kind of... fascinating,” Albus admitted. “Sorry. But I only remember one other Omega, ever, and that was when I was in First Year, and they wouldn't tell us anything about why half the senior school appeared to have gone mad.”

“It hurts, Al,” James admitted. Despite himself, his hand was moving on his cock. “God, this is embarrassing. I can't help it.”

“Let's pretend it's not happening – I mean, the... you know...” Al gave a quick look down at James's lap and then looked away again speedily. “The other stuff we do kind of need to think about. I mean, we need to talk about what you're going to do about the... need. McGonagall doesn't think any of the kids at school would be a good idea, because even if they promised, they wouldn't be able to keep their teeth out of you once they started. I mean, you're not wanting to bond, this time...”

Oh Merlin, James was going to have to bond at some point. He was going to be bonded to someone. To belong to them. The bits of being an Omega he'd never even considered, too caught up in the _need it now_ sex part of what was going on. He was going to have nothing. He was going to be nothing. Omegas had no rights. They were possessions in the eyes of the law. Belonging to the Alpha who bonded with them, even though the Alpha had every right to do anything they wanted. James had thought he'd be fairly mortified if he were a Beta – he'd known, completely and fully known in his heart, that he was the sort of boy who was naturally an Alpha – but that was nothing to this. It had never even crossed his mind that something as awful as...

“No. No bonding,” he gasped. “Fuck, I...” He moaned, sliding his hand faster over his cock until he came again with a groan.

Al, his face flushed and embarrassed, was looking anywhere but at his brother. And James was _still_ fucking hard.

“Right,” said Al, in a rather strangled voice. “So. Um, well, obviously there are a few Alpha teachers, and -”

“Oh god no,” James said, panicking. The thought of any of his teachers fucking him was just... no. There was no coming back from that. Anyway, most of them already had partners. He mentioned this to Al, who raised an eyebrow.

“Partners or not, any of the Alphas would be happy to... assist,” he said dryly. “It seems you're quite the catch, Jamie.” He hesitated. “But there is... an unattached Alpha on the staff, you know. I mean...”

James suddenly knew where this conversation was going before Albus had even said the name. Because he knew just as well as Al did whom the teacher in question was. Mostly, one didn't necessarily know whether a teacher was an Alpha or a Beta, but for certain personal reasons, there was one exception for the Potter family.

“... the Transfiguration Professor,” Al finished. “Teddy.”

Professor Lupin. Teddy. Because of course it _would_ be the case that James's god-brother and crush actually worked on the staff here. But for Merlin's sake, he was someone James had practically grown up with – and it would be a family disaster if he did anything as stupid as get himself fucked by Teddy. However much he wanted to. But that second part was another matter and oh _shit_ that wasn't a good thing to have thought of because now the aching had started up once more, the itching under James's skin was worse again, and he could feel himself leaking at the very thought of Teddy, his lubricated arse dripping down his legs.

“Teddy,” James repeated.

Teddy. The one man James had been wanting to go to bed with for months. Except he'd known that Teddy – Professor Lupin – would never sleep with one of his students, and there was going to be no hope for them after James was out of Hogwarts because they were both clearly Alphas and everyone knew that two Alphas together would probably end up killing each other. Plus, in all likelihood Teddy wasn't gay, so it didn't matter.

“Teddy,” he said again, and he had an awful feeling the longing and desire was blatant in his voice.

“I know he’s a bloke, but apparently most Omegas seem to – well, go for blokes. I don’t know if you…?” James couldn’t look at Al, but he nodded sheepishly. “Okay,” Albus said; and James could hear the effort it took his brother to keep his voice steady. “Well. There’s a thing. But anyway, that’s not exactly important. The point is, Teddy’s, well, he’s said he will. If you want? Not – to bond, just to see you through. He won't bite you, just...” Al broke off, rubbing his hands across his face vigorously. “Oh fuck it, I can't even believe I'm saying this, this has to be one of the most mortifying experiences of my life... Teddy will fuck you for the next few days if that's what you want. I feel like a pimp. God.”

“Yes,” James whimpered, knowing he sounded pathetic. “Albus, please. Al. I need this.”

Al breathed out heavily. “Right,” he said, trying for briskness. “I... er... I'll go and arrange that.” He gave James a last consoling pat, and stood up. As he went towards the door, James heard him say under his breath, “I'll just go and pimp my brother out. Right.”

~

The next hour was torture. James gave up fighting it and just reached round, sticking fingers into his arse and pumping them back and forth through the slick wetness there. It was good, better than just jerking himself off, but it still wasn't enough. It was like he wanted more and more. He kept visualising himself being pinned down, sharp teeth against his neck, a hard, masculine body covering his own. _Teddy's_ hard, masculine body. He groaned, and started to come for the fifth time, his fingers still inside himself. And it was at that inauspicious moment that the door pressed open again.

The first thing that hit James was the scent. It was mesmerising, wonderful. Even as he shook through his orgasm, he was looking up, yearning, wanting to reach out to it. And there was Teddy, standing in the doorway, looking a curious mixture of awkward and turned on.

“James.”

Was Teddy's voice always that low, that close to a growl? It throbbed through James's body. He pulled his fingers out of his arse, a wave of heat and embarrassment rushing through him at what Teddy had just watched him do. (He was still trying not to think about what Al had seen him doing.)

“Please,” James whined.

Teddy was still stood by the door, unmoving and tense. “Are you sure, James? I won't bite, I promise. But you still need to be sure. I'm not going to rape you.”

“Teddy, I...” James went to move towards him, but Teddy held up his hand.

“Just answer, Jamie. Without coming any closer, please, or I'm going to forget all of my good intentions. Are. You. Sure?”

Sure? James was more than sure, he knew. This was the one. This was the Alpha. This was _his_ Alpha. Just the scent, and James was... he was…

“Yes.”

“Merlin,” Teddy muttered, and strode forwards. 

He was breathing fast, and his jaw was tight, as if he were clenching it. But he pulled James up from the floor and held him close against his chest, and James cried, actually cried in relief. Because it felt so right, so bloody perfect, like his whole body was singing. He could feel his magic dancing through him. 

His arms went around Teddy, and he heard himself whispering, “Please, please, please,” as he breathed Teddy in like he needed him to live.

“I've got you,” Teddy said, his grip strong.

James could feel Teddy's arousal; more than that, he could smell it. He felt himself responding to it, his arse twitching with the need to be filled. But he wanted even more desperately to be marked. He'd told Al no bonding, but that was before he'd realised – before he'd smelt Teddy and just _known_. He looked up – Teddy was an inch or two taller than him, though James was broader – and bared his neck in an instinctive gesture of submission, wanting Teddy to drive his teeth into it, hold him fast. Teddy let out a long, hissed breath.

“God and bloody fuck, James. Thank god Flitwick got you here quickly. You can't...” Teddy put one of his hands over James's throat, not hard, but as if he needed to cover it up. “You're offering something that any Alpha would find hard to resist. The kids would've murdered you between them.”

“Don't resist. Please.” James pressed closer, rubbing himself up against Teddy. “Bite me. Mark me. God, Teddy, please. Make me yours. I need you, I need this, please.”

Teddy was shaking. “They warned me it would be hard, but they didn't say it would be this hard. Jamie, listen to me. Listen. I'm here because they trust me not to bond with you, just to keep you safe and out of too much pain. Don't... don't _offer_ yourself like that, it's too...”

“I need you.”

“I'll take you. I'll take you hard. I'll stop it hurting so much, James, I promise,” Teddy said urgently, taking his hand away from James's neck and pulling James's head in, kissing his mouth. 

James kissed back, urgent, passionate, pouring all of his need into the kiss, one arm around Teddy's back whilst the other tangled in Teddy's hair, which was flickering in colour just a little. Teddy had had control of his morphing magic for years now; James hadn't seen it twitch like this since Teddy's school days. This was what he was doing to the other man, he realised. It felt like all the need was all on James's side, but it wasn't true.

“Please,” he begged, pulling away.

Teddy was looking round the room. “I can't believe they put you in a room with a couple of chairs and nothing else. What were they thinking? Hold on...” He took two steps away, and James whined, missing his touch already. “Can't think when I'm touching you,” Teddy admitted quietly. He murmured a spell, and the chairs melded together and then slid into the shape of a bed, complete with sheets and a soft duvet, currently pushed down the end, out of the way. James moved towards Teddy, but Teddy fixed him with a gaze which utterly undid James. “Bed, now,” Teddy ordered.

James obeyed. He wanted to do anything and everything Teddy asked. To kneel at his feet and beg for him. To suck his cock and make him hard and then lie back and open himself up to be fucked. Anything. Anything Teddy asked. He must have said some of this aloud, because Teddy was beside him, touching him gently.

“Shh, shh, it's okay,” he murmured. “You're going to obey me, but I won't ask anything you can't take.”

Teddy's fingers on James's body, together with his scent, simultaneously soothed and aroused. James didn't want to cry any more: a sense of peace was overtaking him, but one which was laced with a need for Teddy to touch him more, never stop.

“Yes, Teddy,” James said.

The relief. Oh god, the relief. Just knowing that all he had to do was whatever Teddy said. That was what he wanted, that was what he needed. Even more than the sex, just to be Teddy's, to be owned. Dimly, James knew that this was everything that James was _not_ \- but right now, there was nothing more important than this.

“Jamie, have you done this before?” Teddy asked carefully. He was running his hand down the inside of James's thighs, wet with slick as they were.

James flushed, and shook his head. The suppressants meant that there was little sexual urge before one reached seventeen. Some, sure – it had been fairly clear to James what his sexual orientation was, and he’d certainly wanked enough times in his life. But there had been no overwhelming desire. Certainly nothing like James was feeling now. And he knew he wasn’t alone in this. Of course, various students had sex anyhow, just for the principle of the thing, but that wasn’t James’s sort of rebellion. Being gay had meant that it was all a bit more awkward anyway. He'd not told anyone that bit, just – well, just not made a move on anyone. Snogged a couple of girls, actually, before he'd realised why they didn't interest him. But he'd left it there. Plus there was the awkward fact that for the past six months and more, the only person he'd been properly interested in was the one who was touching him right now.

“I'll be careful,” Teddy promised. It was his turn to flush. “I'll try to be careful,” he corrected himself. “Merlin, James, you're...”

“I want you.”

James canted his hips. Teddy's touch on his thighs was setting up the ache again, worse than ever. James reached down towards his cock, but Teddy gave an unexpected growl.

“Hands off,” he ordered sharply. “You're mine. Mine to touch. Mine to choose when or whether you touch yourself.” He ran one of his own large hands over James's erection, and James thought for a panicked second that he would come just from the slightest touch of Teddy's fingers. A moan burst from his lips, and he thrust over and over with his hips in hopeless, helpless need. A smile lit Teddy's face. “Oh yes, you need it, Jamie,” he said. “You need me to fuck you, don't you?”

James whined some more, reaching out towards Teddy and trying to pull him down on top of him. Teddy was still dressed, which seemed wrong and unfair. James pulled pathetically at his clothing, too distracted by need to be able to work out how buttons might undo.

“Say it,” Teddy said, his voice going straight through James. “Say you want me to fuck you.”

“I want you to fuck me. Please,” James begged.

“Yes.” And there was a hissed sibilance in Teddy's voice, a possessive edge. 

He vanished his clothes with a quick spell and knelt over James. James's eyes took him all in; the slender but muscular body, the strong arms, Teddy's amazing... oh god, and enormous – James was supposed to get that inside him? – cock, the grey-blue eyes which were meeting his with such intensity.

“Please please please please please.” 

James was back to begging, to being able to think of nothing but Teddy and Teddy filling him up. Teddy gently pushed two of his fingers inside James, just as James had been doing to himself; but it had felt nothing like this when James had done it. James screamed, arching his back and coming at Teddy's first penetration of him.

“So beautiful,” Teddy murmured, stroking him softly as he came down from the peak, his fingers crooking inside James and touching a place which felt as if it was hollowing out James's brain, turning him to mush.

“More,” James said.

Because Teddy hadn't fucked him yet, not properly. James wanted to be filled, totally filled. Filled with Teddy's hard cock, which was throbbing so close and yet not close enough.

“Still hard, hmm?” Teddy said, leaning forward and pressing an almost innocent kiss on James's lips.

James squirmed and cried out incoherently. He wanted to be bitten. He wanted to be fucked. He wanted so much more than Teddy's lips brushing against his own, and he was too aroused to explain any of it.

“Uh, uh, uh,” was what came out of his mouth; but apparently it made some sort of sense to Teddy, because Teddy was kissing him harder.

“I will,” Teddy promised. “You'll feel me. Hold yourself apart for me, Jamie.”

James tugged his legs back, opening himself up, aware of the slickness of his channel, the way it must be glistening. He felt ashamed and shameless all at once, knowing that somehow he shouldn't be doing this – knowing he could do nothing but wordlessly encourage... beg... Teddy to take him. And Teddy was clearly listening; he lined up that enormous cock of his and began to insinuate it inside James. James pushed back against it, wanting more, wanting all of it now, no matter that it was making him burn with pain as well as arousal. And then Teddy was all the way in, seated inside him. James could feel Teddy's cock inside him. He could _feel_ Teddy's _cock_ inside him. And it was wonderful, and he needed more already. He needed something else, too.

“Bite me, Teddy,” he urged, tilting his head back so that his neck showed fully. “Bite me. Please. Bond me, mark me.”

“James...” Teddy said his name and then clenched his jaw together tightly. James could see the muscles tense, see the lines of determination in Teddy's face.

“Please,” James begged, not caring how stupid or needy he sounded. “Oh, please.”

“I'm going to fuck you, Jamie.” Teddy's voice was low and seductive. “You're not going to come again until I tell you that you may. You need to learn some control. Listen to yourself, all out of control like that. You're going to do what I say, aren't you?”

“Yes... yes,” James promised feverishly. “But please, can't you -”

“No,” Teddy said forcefully. 

He began to thrust, pushing inside James until James couldn't think of anything, couldn't speak in words, just little noises of need; then louder ones. His hands were on Teddy's chest, running up and down it. He was trying to ignore the building need in his cock because he wasn't going to come; wasn't allowed to come. Teddy had told him. But it was hard. It was so, so hard. Teddy was swelling, but he'd kept the knot outside James's body, the rest of his cock enough to penetrate James and fill that space which had been dying for something inside it. 

“I want – I want -”

“You want to do what you're told,” Teddy said, his eyes more pupil than iris when James looked into them; his expression all-consuming.

“Yes. Oh, please, Teddy, yes.”

“You like me fucking you.”

“Yes.” And James did, but it wasn't enough. He started to babble words, pleading, begging. “Teddy, please.... bite me, bond me.... God, please. I want you to. Bite me. Please, Teddy. Please, I need to be yours. Bite my neck, take me.” 

Teddy made a deep rumbling noise, half-terrifying in its intensity. “Be quiet. James, you will not say anything more.”

James whimpered but stopped speaking. He couldn't help the noises of need which slipped from him, however, as Teddy continued to move in and out of him. He wanted to touch himself. He wanted to come – oh, how he wanted to come. More than that, he wanted to make Teddy come, and he was half-aware of the fact that he knew so little; must be disappointing Teddy so much... but at the same time, all he could do was whine and plead wordlessly as Teddy fucked him remorselessly. It felt so good. It felt... almost perfect, if only Teddy would just go that one step further and bite down on him as he did it. 

Finally, Teddy cried out again, but before he came, he whispered, “Come, Jamie.”

James sobbed as his orgasm started. Teddy hadn't even needed to touch him; just the words, the instruction that James should do it had been enough to make him come. Shouldn't this power have been saved for James's bonded partner – or was it just that James's body knew, just as his heart did, that this was the _one_ ; that no matter whether the physical bonding had taken place or not, this was James's Alpha, his soul-mate?

Teddy's arms went around him, pulling him close. And James was still hard, even now; and Teddy seemed to know, to understand, because he slid a hand around James's cock, just holding it. Reassuring. Making James feel protected and looked after. 

“I haven't finished, either,” Teddy murmured, close to his ear. “But it will do for now. Rest, James. Rest. We can do more later.”

James, feeling safe with Teddy's body so close beside him, Teddy's hands all over him, shut his eyes and for the first time since he woke up that morning, rested.

*

Teddy looked at the boy curled up in his grip and carefully started to pull his arms away. James didn't stir as he did so. They had fucked several times already, though Teddy had been careful neither to knot him or to bring his teeth even close to James. They'd kissed, when Teddy had been confident he had the strength of will to kiss and do no more, but even that had been rare. Still, he'd fucked James over and over until the seventeen year old was clearly in some discomfort from the new experience – and yet still, James had asked for more. And had begged to be bitten, time after time. Teddy didn't know how long he could go on resisting that request, not when he had a desperate James by him... not when he knew he wanted nothing more than to accede.

But James was finally properly asleep. At least, Teddy thought so. He spared a last glance at him. Yes, he was definitely asleep. Good. That gave Teddy a chance to get away, speak to Headmistress McGonagall about this. Gently disentangling James's grasp of him, he slipped away and got into his clothes, casting all the cleaning charms he could think of as he did so, before leaving the room.

Ten minutes later, he was in the Headmistress's study.

“Teddy.” Minerva McGonagall looked at him in concern. “What are you doing here. Is James – is he all right?”

Teddy swallowed. “Yes.” He paused. “As all right as possible, in the circumstances, anyway. Minerva, it's me. I'm not sure I can do this.”

Professor McGonagall, who had stood up to greet him, sat down thoughtfully in her chair and waved him into one across from him. “I beg your pardon?”

“James. You said...” Teddy blushed. He knew and trusted Minerva – looked on her as a mentor – but some things were difficult to talk about. “You said he'd need... sex.”

“Indeed.” McGonagall raised an eyebrow. “I'm assuming you're not about to tell me that isn't true.”

“And that he needed someone who could give that to him without biting, without forcing a bond,” Teddy pressed on quickly. “I'm... just not sure I can do that.”

“I see.” Minerva frowned. “I suppose you are still rather a young wizard for such self-control, but...”

“You didn't tell me he'd _ask_ for it,” Teddy said desperately. “I thought – when you said he'd want, need, sex – that's what he'd be asking for. You didn't say he'd ask me to bite him.”

“What?” It was unusual for Minerva to show any sudden emotion, but she leaned forward at this. “James has asked you to bite him?” she asked sharply.

“Bite him, mark him, bond with him,” Teddy said. He put a hand to his face and rubbed it. “Minerva, I don't think I can keep refusing him. I'm sorry. It's too difficult. I can't do it.”

“But he shouldn't be doing any such thing,” McGonagall said, looking utterly bewildered. “Asking for a bite? Omegas don't do that. I've been teaching here many a year and have come across a goodly number of them in my time, and never have I... Teddy, are you sure?”

Teddy gave a helpless laugh. “Yes, Minerva. It's hardly something I could misunderstand. When you've got an Omega underneath you offering up his neck and begging to be bitten and bred, it's not precisely full of double meanings.”

“Oh. Oh dear.” Minerva actually stood up and started pacing the room. “Albus Potter did say he agreed very promptly when your name was brought up. Oh dear. If James has feelings for you... if he wants to be bonded to you... No, I quite see that makes it very different. Just once? It may just have been an accident, a misspoken word. I mean, you're family; he probably felt safe.”

“No,” said Teddy wearily, “it isn't like that.”

He hesitated. McGonagall probably had a penseive somewhere, but there was no way in hell he was going to let her that close to any of his memories of James and him together. On the other hand, it was the first time in his life that he'd ever seen Minerva at a loss, and she was clearly finding it hard to grasp what was going on. Tentatively, he put his wand to his head, drawing out a thread of memory of James's begging. He muttered a quick spell, and James's voice suddenly penetrated the room.

_“Teddy, please.... bite me, bond me.... God, please. I want you to. Bite me. Please, Teddy. Please, I need to be yours. Bite my neck, take me.”_

Teddy waved his wand quickly to get rid of the sound. Even here, even in the Headmistress's study with Minerva, he felt himself getting hard just listening to James. Hard, and desperate to go back to his young lover and do precisely what he was being asked to do. He crossed his legs uncomfortably.

“Good Godric,” Minerva jerked out, her eyes startled as they fixed on Teddy's. “I've never...” She was breathing quite heavily herself; and Teddy remembered that she was, after all, an Alpha also. “You've not bitten him?” she demanded.

“Of course I haven't. But I – I don't think I can go on resisting, Minerva. It's not once, it's over and over, and I can't – take it.”

“Teddy Lupin,” McGonagall said, her voice unexpectedly shaky, “I apologise for suggesting that your self-control was not all it might be. If you have resisted an Omega asking that of you, in such close circumstances, you have self-control like no one I have ever met. No Alpha – no Beta, even, would be able to listen to that and not give in.” She took a deep breath. “The question is, what to do next. I suppose we could find another Alpha to -”

“You will not.” Teddy found himself on his feet, his hands on McGonagall's shoulders, his voice a growl. “James is mine. You will under no circumstances put any other Alpha anywhere near my Omega. Is that understood?” Minerva didn't speak for a second, and Teddy gave her the smallest shake. “Is that understood?” he growled again.

And then realised what he was doing and dropped his hands. “Oh my god, I am so sorry,” he said, appalled. He had just shaken and threatened the Headmistress. A War heroine. His mentor. The woman who had given him a job. “Please, Minerva, I am so terribly sorry.”

“I think,” McGonagall said with determined steadiness, “that perhaps we should sit down again and talk this through a little more.”

“You're not putting anyone else anywhere near my James,” Teddy repeated, though this time more quietly. He sank back into his chair, but he kept his gaze on Minerva, even as she returned to her side of the desk. She might be all of those things, but this was James. _Teddy's_ James.

“Teddy,” Minerva said quietly, “it is understandable to be obsessed by an Omega in heat. We are programmed to be so. But you are a long way away from him and yet still this possessive.”

“I...” Teddy went white then red; he could feel the colour coming and going in his cheeks. “I love him. I want him. Even before this, I was – sort of hoping he would turn out to be a Beta, though I knew he was much more likely to be an Alpha, being James. But that would have meant... and now...” He trailed off.

“You actually want to bond with him.” Minerva McGonagall looked at him. “And you knew this before you went in there with him? Teddy, you should have told me this in advance.”

“You wouldn't have let me go,” Teddy said. “You'd have put someone else in there with James. Yes, I knew I wanted a relationship with him, even before he came into heat. Before I had the slightest idea he was an Omega. But I have never had any intention of doing anything about it whilst he was still at school. I'm a responsible teacher, you know that. I have not done anything in the least inappropriate, and I never would. Never. And I never thought of anything like this sort of bond. How could I possibly have done? It never occurred to me that James would be an Omega. 

"But _you_ asked _me_ if I would be prepared to see him through this heat. And quite honestly, the thought of anyone else doing so was appalling. I didn't know he'd ask for anything more. I didn't know how it would affect me. But now I've seen him, Minerva, there is no chance in hell that you are going to put any other Alpha, Beta or anyone in any form in that room with him who is not me.” He had started calmly enough, but Teddy could feel the heat of determination building up in him. He could scent that Minerva was angry, and more than that, worried; but his priority had to be James. “Any attempt to do so, and I will go back and bond with him right now. James is mine.”

“I see.” Minerva was silent. Teddy knew that the scent of his fury and determination must be piercing her nostrils. “Teddy,” she said at last, “we will need to discuss this with his parents.”

“James is of age,” Teddy pointed out.

“He is seventeen and two months, and if you think your godfather would not have a word or two to say if I allowed you to bond with his seventeen year old son without even mentioning it to him, then perhaps you need to be kept well away from James as he has clearly entirely addled your brain,” Minerva said dryly.

Teddy, with a sudden thought of Harry, one of the most powerful wizards in the entire world, was silenced by this. He and Minerva looked at each other for a few seconds.

“Right. Now?” he asked.

“Now,” Minerva agreed.

It didn't take long before she had managed to get both Ginny and Harry in the fire. They had, of course, already been told about James's heat; and about Teddy's volunteering to help him through. This, however, was a stage further.

“He wants...? Well, he can't. He's much too young,” Ginny said firmly. She might be a Beta, but when it came to her children, she was a force to be reckoned with.

“Exactly,” Harry agreed. “Teddy, I can't be long – there's a crisis at work with a new neo-Death Eater group, and everyone's on full alert. But you can't possibly be considering anything so ridiculous. If James has this – this obsession with you, then obviously someone else needs to take over for this heat. We can discuss a bonding when the boy is older.”

“No one,” Teddy said, trying to keep his voice steady, “is going in that room with James except me. Harry, Ginny, you have no idea. I guarantee that anyone – except another Omega, if you think you can find one – who goes into that room will be bonded with James before they come out. And I also absolutely guarantee that no one - _no one_ \- is going to bond with James who isn't me.”

“Teddy, don't be -”

“Perhaps if it isn't you, he will -”

Both Harry and Ginny spoke at once, but they were cut off as a bell rang suddenly.

Minerva looked alarmed. “James's room. He's trying to get out.”

The room fell silent, until it was breached by the sound of James's voice, panic-stricken and a hundred times louder than usual.

“ _Teddy!_ ”

*

“Teddy?” James woke, and turned around to reach for his Alpha. Even as he turned, though, he knew something was wrong. Something was off. The smell wasn't right. Teddy wasn't here. “Teddy!” he shouted, panicked.

Tumbled, confused thoughts went through his brain. Teddy was gone, had left him. James needed him, needed Teddy to be here, to mate him, to see him through this heat. James was aching and wanting, but whereas at first it had been all about the sex, now it was all about Teddy – he needed Teddy, no one else, nothing else would do. What was he going to do, if Teddy had gone forever? Maybe James wasn't good enough. He'd thought – when Teddy had held him, promised him he'd look after him – he'd thought it was fine. But Teddy hadn't bonded with him, maybe he didn't want to. And James knew with a horrible, heart-searing certainty that without that bond he would be half-alive.

“Don't leave the room,” Madam Pomfrey had said when she put him in there. “It would be highly dangerous.”

But what did danger matter? If there was no Teddy, then what did anything matter? Dimly, James knew he was being illogical, even un-James-like. He went to the door, forgetting he was naked, forgetting everything, and began to tug at it. There must have been some sort of spell on it, because it didn't open immediately. However, his wand was somewhere – tucked into his clothes. James went over to the pile on the floor and dug through them, hunting out his wand automatically and shrugging a robe around him before waving the wand at the door. Then he was through, only half-dressed, looking – desperately looking – for Teddy.

It wasn't Teddy he found. It was a student from the year above, Gregory Horn. Horn stopped, sniffed, and was suddenly launching towards him. James looked at him in some bewilderment, still lost in his thoughts of Teddy.

“Have you seen Profe-”

His words were cut off as Gregory pushed him up against the wall, thrusting a thigh between James's own. “Fuck, but you're hot,” the other student said fiercely.

“N-no, I -”

This felt wrong. James was shaking. He was stronger than Gregory, he knew; he pushed him off, but Horn had hold of his robes and as he pushed, Gregory kept the grasp of his clothes and the robe fell away. If James had thought Horn had been acting peculiarly before, it was nothing to now he was naked in front of him. James made an instinctive grab for his robes, but Gregory had grasping, grabbing hands all over him and was reaching towards him with his mouth. One bite. One bite and there would be a bond. The wrong bond. An awful bond. James would belong to someone he couldn't love.

“ _Teddy!_ ” James screamed helplessly, struggling and fighting. It was difficult to concentrate on getting away, when his body was still desperate for sex. Horn wasn't Teddy, but he was someone, and James needed someone, needed something. But not this.

The hex was powerful enough that Horn didn't know what hit him. One moment he was leaning in towards James's neck, the next he was falling backwards. And James felt Teddy's arms surround him, Teddy's mouth against his ear, breathing, “Mine.”

James cried, and clung, and cried and clung some more. Teddy held him, not even trying to make him move or make him do anything. James shivered and Teddy pulled his own robes open, then tugged James inside so that they covered them both.

“Come on,” Teddy said at last. “Back to the room.”

“I...”

“Shh,” Teddy instructed, and James immediately fell silent.

“Teddy!”

The voice was McGonagall's, but James didn't care. He didn't care about anything save the fact he was pressed up against Teddy's body. Teddy's hard, warm, Alpha body. He began to rub himself up against him, whining quietly, needing Teddy's possession. Desperate for Teddy inside him.

“I am taking,” Teddy growled, over James's shoulder, “what is mine.”

McGonagall's voice was quiet as she said, “His parents understand. Now please, go and bond with him before the school is disturbed any further.”

“This...” Teddy nudged Gregory Horn gently with his foot, “tried to attack my James. Tried to bite him. It might be wise to remove him from anywhere in my sight for the foreseeable future.”

McGonagall had stopped a certain distance from Teddy and James. James was faintly aware that she was sniffing the air and holding herself very upright, but he wasn't that bothered with her, Headmistress or not. Instead, he continued to rub against Teddy, making little pleading noises in his throat.

“Yes, Teddy,” McGonagall said, a faint strain in her voice. “Now, _please_ , take James away.”

“Come on.”

James went with Teddy obediently back to the room, still tucked up inside the older man's robes. When they got to the room he looked up.

“Please, Teddy,” he whispered, unsure whether he was allowed to speak or not.

“I've got you.” There was a warmth in Teddy's voice, a reassurance. He was giving off that scent again – the one which was both calming and arousing simultaneously. James could feel himself beginning to slick up some more; his cock had already been hard just from Teddy's closeness for some time.

“I want...”

“What do you want, James?” The dominating Alpha voice washed over him, making him shiver with desire.

“Please,” James said.

“I can fuck you, Jamie. Keep the heat from burning you up. Is that what you want?”

“Yes! Yes, oh god, oh Merlin, Teddy, please.” The words went straight through James, until he was shaking with need. “Bite me, fuck me, bond me... oh god, Teddy. Please. I need you to.”

He scrabbled at Teddy's clothes, and Teddy pulled them off without further ado. He pushed James back to the bed, and James was so grateful, so relieved to be there. He was going to be there, underneath Teddy, his Alpha.

“You want me to bond with you,” Teddy growled in his ear, pushing him down on the bed and covering him with his own body.

“Yes.” There was, quite literally, nothing in the world James wanted – needed – more.

“I'd own you,” Teddy said. “Totally. There's no going back from that, James.”

“Own me. Oh god, please.” James bucked his hips up against Teddy, needing the pressure of Teddy's cock against his own, needing everything he could get from Teddy.

“I could,” and Teddy sounded odd, as if he were pushing the words out with some reluctance, “just mate with you. Just take you. Allow you to decide later, when you're out of heat, what you want.”

James was on the verge of sobbing again. Why was Teddy doing this? Teasing him so when James needed, _needed_ the bonding. “Don't you want to? Please. Please. I'll do anything.”

“So help me,” Teddy growled, “by the time I've finished with you, you will never ask me if I don't want you. I'm going to _possess_ you, Jamie; take everything you have and then take some more. You have no idea.”

There was something... some reason in the furthest recesses of James's head, why he shouldn't be desiring this with all his might; shouldn't consider this the most wonderful thing he'd ever heard. James couldn't concentrate enough to find it. Didn't want to find it. Teddy had just promised him the world, he'd heard him.

“Yes. Bite me. Please. Please, Teddy.”

Teddy thrust three fingers into James's wet arse, which clenched around them. It was a lot, all at once, even bunched up as Teddy had them, but James wanted anything Teddy gave him, and he needed something inside him. Teddy had known that, he thought gratefully. Teddy knew what he needed.

“I'm going to bite you,” he whispered in James's ear, “and I'm going to knot you; and by the time I've finished with you, so help me, James, you won't know where you end and I begin. I promise you that. Now, get on all fours for me. I want you to turn over and bare your arse for me.”

James couldn't have disobeyed if he'd wanted to. He drowned in Teddy's voice, in Teddy's scent, in the closeness of Teddy, the knowledge that soon – soon – they were going to be bonded. Teddy kept his fingers pressed inside James, and James wriggled round, trying not to disturb them. He needed that something, that promise; that connection. Teddy fucked him slowly with his fingers, until James was squirming and whimpering pleas in increasingly incoherent fashion. Teddy pushed an arm against his back until James was resting on elbows and knees, his arse exposed in the air. And then the fingers were pulling out, to be replaced by Teddy's cock. Still, Teddy moved slowly, deliberately – making James plead a bit more before entering him more deeply. Finally, Teddy thrust right in, and at the pinnacle, when James was teetering and begging for release, he leaned over and pushed James's head round, biting deep into the side of James's neck and piercing the skin. Holding on with all his might, he pushed his cock further in even than before, forcing the knot inside James's hole. It should have hurt – James was sure it should have hurt; but his whole self was taken up with the feeling of Teddy's bite, of Teddy becoming _part_ of him; his soul-mate, his master. Teddy's cock pulsed inside James, and James came, again; he could do nothing else with those teeth attached to him. It was done. James was bonded. He was Teddy's.

Teddy pushed James to a lying position and lay beside him, his knotted cock still pressed deep inside James. At length he removed his teeth from James's neck, but then he licked and sucked on the place he had marked, as if he could not bear to leave it alone. James lay there, feeling Teddy creep into his mind as he'd never done before; realising that he truly did belong to Teddy now. It felt so _right_. James had never felt quite like this in his life. Teddy murmured promises in his ear.

“You're mine. Mine, James. Say it.”

“I'm yours,” James whispered, the knowledge fluttering through his body, almost better than an orgasm in the way it made him feel. “Yours.”

“That's right. I'll look after you, Jamie,” his Alpha said softly. “I promise. I won't make you do anything you don't want to – except your Transfiguration homework,” he added with a quiet laugh. “I won't let anyone hurt you. I'll take care of you. I won't leave you. I'll be faithful to you. I promise you.”

It was as if the bite had given James some of his faculties back – ironic, in the circumstances, he thought, considering he had just given his entire _life_ into the possession of someone else. Teddy's knot still swelled inside him, tying them together physically as they now were tied in every other fashion as well. He felt another burst of Teddy’s orgasm, come filling him further; heard Teddy’s soft moan.

“Teddy...” he said, suddenly shy.

“But you _are_ mine,” Teddy murmured. “Don't doubt that, James.” His mouth moved over the bite-mark one more time, and James shivered under the pressure of Teddy's warm tongue against that special part of him.

“I know,” James whispered. His cock was stirring again, from the closeness of Teddy, from the heat of his words, from the heat of his mouth. “Anything you want,” he heard himself say.

“I know. Such a good boy,” Teddy murmured. His knot still held James tight against him, but he reached his hand down to caress James's erection. “You want me so much, don't you, Jamie?”

“Yes.”

“You'll beg for me, scream for me, come for me whenever I want you to, won't you?”

“Yes, oh please, Teddy.” Teddy's fingers were still working against James's cock, but James didn't know whether he was allowed to come and the strain of trying not to come until he knew it was allowed was killing him. “Please, Teddy, oh please let me.”

“Oh.” Teddy laughed in his ear, a hot breath of air. “You want to come for me, Jamie?”

“Please. Please.” The shyness was taken over by need, and by Teddy's hand working him faster – faster.

“Come for me, baby.”

The pet name would have been humiliating at any other time, but right now it turned James on the more. He came, choking out Teddy's name in a long moan of need.

*

The moment Teddy's teeth met in James's neck, the feeling shot through him. He could not have removed his mouth any more than he could have prevented his cock from knotting within James. They were bound, quite literally, together, and Teddy had a full awareness of everything he had just committed to. With one bite, he had bonded himself to James for life. Teddy could, should he choose, reject James: force James to obey him but take no notice of him. For James, however, life would forever revolve around Teddy. But the thought of rejecting James was impossible. James was his life, his essence. He could feel James, as if James were a living part of himself. At the same time, a tidal wave of possessiveness flowed through him; a desire to own James in every way. Teddy would tear the world apart for James, but James was _his_.

He whispered promises to James as they lay together with Teddy's knot still joining them, waves of orgasm still flowing through Teddy. He listened as James moaned and whimpered beside him. And he knew that something irrevocable had happened.

*

James woke, two days later, his brain suddenly unclouded, though his body hurt; his arse in particular. Well, he thought grimly, he knew why that was. There was a pain in his neck, too; a patch that he was tempted to keep touching. Oh. Yes. He knew what that was, too. Bloody hell, did he know what that was.

Teddy was asleep by his side. James swallowed, looking at him. He was seventeen years old and he was bonded for life to this man lying asleep next to him. Not even some sort of equal bond. He was... what? Teddy's servant? Teddy's slave? Teddy's _whore_? For the rest of his life, anything Teddy ordered him to do, James was going to have to do. He loved Teddy. That wasn't in doubt. Not even slightly. But there was something horrendously final and alarming about a bonding. About being an Omega.

James realised for the first time with a clear mind that he was an Omega. A – well, what even were they? Less than human. No rights. All they actually owned was the ability to send every Alpha out of their mind when they were in heat, however often that happened. And to get pregnant during that time, too. Fuck, James didn't even know how often that was likely to be. He hadn't ever thought to look. Why would he have done? It wasn't as if he were likely to be in the position to bond to one – everyone knew they were rare as fuck, so James had known he'd end up with a Beta as a partner if he ended up with a partner at all. And the thought of actually being one? James had been born to be an Alpha. He knew that. He _still_ knew that. His... his Omega status was a sick joke.

He had a faint urge to curl up and cry, but damn it, he'd done too much of that already. Most of what had happened whilst he was in heat was a bit fuzzy, like he'd got horribly pissed or something (and he knew all about that – his seventeenth birthday had been celebrated in a bit too much style: the next day had been fairly awful, even with hangover potions to hand). But he remembered enough. Remembered the beginning of it: the way particular students whose seventeenth birthdays had preceded his had started to grab at him in Charms. Remembered the uncertain way Flitwick had pushed him before him out of the classroom, clearly trying not to touch him too much. Remembered... fuck... remembered Al being there in this room, remembered _wanking_ in front of Al, which was... oh god, Obliviate him now for that... remembered Teddy. Remembered the scent of him, the way James had known immediately that this was _it_ , this was the one Alpha he needed.

Remembered the begging.

Fuck.

Remembered the begging.

James didn't beg. Waking up this morning, he felt like himself. Like himself a week ago. Confident. Knowing that half the school looked up to him. He was Quidditch Captain. Had a fair chance of being named Head Boy next year. Was not only going to be one of the Alpha wizards, but one of the top Alpha wizards in his year. In the school. And he _still_ felt like that person. Like he could go out and snap orders, and people would fall into line.

Except they wouldn't. Because of what they now knew about him. Because now, he wasn't James Sirius Potter, son of Alpha-extraordinaire Harry Potter, and an Alpha-in-the-making. He was James Sirius Potter, Omega. James Sirius Potter, who didn't own the school. James Sirius Potter, who didn't own anything – who was someone else's fucking possession. It wasn't a random one-off illness. It was a change which was going to affect his entire life. There was no way he was ever going to be Head Boy. No one would listen to an Omega, for Merlin's sake. Quidditch Captain? He could wave goodbye to that; probably even to his place in the team. Gryffindor would be mocked into oblivion for thinking an Omega was their best option for Beater.

But there was something worse than that. Much worse. James had just given himself over to Teddy Lupin like it was nothing. Like it was the best, most obvious move ever. Had offered himself to Teddy to bond with him. And Teddy had _let him_. Teddy had bitten down into his neck, marking him. Claiming him. James wasn't just an Omega – he was an owned Omega. He remembered the conversation with Al. This was supposed to have been a one-off. An Alpha just there to see him through, to stop him driving himself insane with a lust he couldn't control. Someone to fuck him through his heat and let him out the other side to consider rationally what he should do next. And Teddy had actually bitten him, bonded with him. This wasn't supposed to have happened. James should have been waking up well-fucked but unbonded.

What the hell had Teddy done?

*

Teddy was exhausted. There had been three days of James's heat. One day of resisting the pleading for a bond; then two days afterwards, living through the reality of having created that bond, with an Omega who was still very much in heat and very, very much demanding. Trying to come to terms with the fact that he was now life-bonded to a seventeen year old kid who was still at school. Who was not only one of his pupils, but his actual god-brother, for Merlin's sake. Whom Teddy had grown up with, who he was supposed to have considered as a relative, even if it had been a year since that had actually been true. And who was now Teddy's greatest priority in his entire life, no matter what happened. Whatever happened, James came first. That was the truth of it. James was _his_. Nothing else even compared in importance to that. Nothing ever would.

Waking up slowly, he blinked sleep-filled eyes. Saw a figure bending over him, and rubbed a hand across to get out the grit and tears which were blurring his vision. 

Heard James's voice say, “Teddy, what the hell have you done?”

Teddy blinked some more, and sat up. James looked different this morning, less flushed. Teddy glanced down his body and saw that James's cock was flaccid. It was the first time he'd seen it like that, he realised. James caught him looking, and twitched the duvet over his lap. It was clear that his boyfriend's (if that was what he could call James) heat was over...this time. Teddy was torn between a vague sadness – Merlin, James had been hot – and a much stronger sense of relief. Perhaps they could get back to some degree of normality now. Try and build some sort of sensible relationship out of the enforced closeness; one where James wasn't clinging and begging. One where they were something more like equals.

Then the words which James had spoken really registered. James looked furious. Also embarrassed, but definitely angry. Teddy took a deep breath in through his nose. Smelt angry, too.

“Good morning, James,” he said, trying to defuse the situation.

“We're bonded,” James hissed.

Teddy felt his heart thumping wildly inside him. Of course they were bonded. It was what James had wanted. Hell, it had been what James had _begged_ for. He'd resisted it as long as he could – as long as was humanly possible. Longer, it felt like. But he swallowed back all of the things he was tempted to say. Somehow, he knew that pointing out to James that he'd pleaded for Teddy to bond with him wasn't the best plan.

“Yes,” he said quietly, “we are. So we now need to work out something about how our relationship will work. Together,” he added quickly, seeing James tense.

“You were supposed to fuck me and leave me unbonded,” James said, his voice rising in pitch. “Not take advantage and bloody well _bite_ me.”

Teddy could feel the fury welling up inside himself. He pushed it down. As an Alpha, it was his responsibility to stay calm. He could overpower James easily. Hell, as James's bonded Alpha, he could just give him an order or two and James would be down on his knees again begging to do anything Teddy wanted him to do. But that wasn't the sort of relationship he wanted with James. It never had been. He wanted James for _James_ , not because his lover was an Omega. And definitely not – oh hell, no – not because he wanted someone to submit to him.

“Calm down,” he said, trying to push all of his Alpha domination into the words.

He should have known better than to think anything like that would work on James Sirius Potter, Omega or not.

“Calm down? Calm the fuck down? I'm _bonded_ to you, Teddy! I don't even exist in the eyes of the law any more except as your bloody possession. And I'm supposed to calm down?”

Teddy got up suddenly and walked away, bending down to pick up his robes and shrug them on. The temptation to dominate; to push James back onto the bed and fuck him into submission was frighteningly strong. But that wasn't what it was between them. That wasn't what it was going to be like. Teddy was better than that. He was. _Keep on telling yourself that, Lupin_ , a wry voice said inside his head.

He took several deep breaths through his mouth, intentionally trying not to breathe in James's scent.

“Okay,” he said slowly, keeping his back to James. “It's clear you're not happy about this.”

“Oh, well spotted.” James's sarcasm was always one of his strong points.

“What's happened has happened. You were the one asking for this,” Teddy said, because he couldn't help himself. He turned around, leaning against the wall and looking across at James. “So now we need to work out what to do next. Obviously, you're at school. I'm a teacher. Any sort of intimate relationship between us is entirely inappropriate.”

“Right,” muttered James grimly, “which is why you've spent the last three days holding me down and fucking me raw. Not to mention marking me as yours for the rest of my life, whether I want it or not.”

“Shut up,” roared Teddy, infuriated; and then felt guilty as all hell as James winced back against the bed and went suddenly silent. Teddy wiped his face with his hand. “I mean,” he said, carefully returning his voice to a soothing tone, “please speak a little more gently. Say what you need to say, Jamie. Always say what you need to say.”

“W-when you say 'need',” James said; and his voice was tentative and cowed, and Teddy hated himself for having put that note in his boyfriend's voice, “what do you mean?”

Fuck. Because even an order given like that, in a moment of irritation... James would take that as sacrosanct. He had to do Teddy's bidding – and no wonder Omegas were treasured; and no wonder they were also abused like hell, because it was amazing and terrible all at once to have this much power over someone. Anything Teddy told him. Anything. Even out of heat. Teddy took a moment to realise what this must feel like to James, who had always been in control of everything and everyone. An oldest child. The oldest child of Harry bloody Potter, for goodness's sake. Used to the world falling at his feet. And now, thanks to an accident of blood and birth and bonding, he was positioned so that his entire life would rise and fall on Teddy Lupin, whether he liked it or not, whether he wanted it or not. For anyone, that would be one hell of a burden to handle. For someone like his James... it was unthinkable.

 _His_ James. The possessive pronoun insisted on passing through Teddy's mind, no matter how much he tried to ignore it. But then, he was James's, just as much. From now on, Teddy's entire life would be dedicated to James; to doing whatever was needed to keep James happy. Unfortunately, what it seemed like James wanted right now was the one thing that Teddy couldn't give him – his freedom. Even were there a way to break the bond – and Teddy knew that there would be, in some way – it would break James too. And Teddy just couldn't do that.

“Until I tell you otherwise,” Teddy said carefully, “you may say what you want. And if I tell you to stop, that will only be for the specific time we are talking. It will not mean that you may not tell me in future what you want to say. Okay?”

“Okay... sir,” James said, more than a hint of resentment and sarcasm in that second word.

“Jamie.” Teddy sighed. “Do you remember being outside of this room?” he asked carefully.

“I'm not under the impression I've bloody lived my life here, thanks,” James snapped back.

Teddy shut his eyes for a full thirty seconds. “During heat. Do you remember leaving this room?” he elaborated.

He saw the moment James remembered. Saw the moment he re-lived that student, whoever it had been, pushing him against a wall, stripping his robes from him. Saw the sag of James's shoulders. In anyone else's world – even a Beta's – just that memory would have been enough to subdue unruliness. But this was James Potter, and the rules were different.

James's eyes flashed. “You could have just got me back in here. There was no need to _bite_ me.”

Teddy sighed. They'd danced round the issue, but it clearly wasn't going anywhere. The simple truth was, he was just going to have to come out with it.

“You begged me for it.”

“I was in _heat_. That's what happens,” James spat.

“No, James.”

Teddy needed to keep his distance, because the temptation to go over to James and _show_ him how much he wanted Teddy was too fucking strong. He could have James on his knees in seconds, if he wanted. Not by ordering him or physically forcing him, but by overwhelming James with his scent and James's Omega need to submit to him. He wouldn't even have to do more than touch his fingers to the side of James's face and James would be ready to do anything for him. And that, of course, was the problem. It was also the second time in five minutes that Teddy had been visualising James on his knees, which was both incredibly hot and somewhat disturbing. He blinked away the image, and concentrated on the actual James in front of him.

“What?” James asked, genuine surprise in his voice.

Teddy couldn't blame him. He'd ended up with McGonagall, confused and bewildered by James's persistence. It wasn't unreasonable that it was confusing James just as much.

“You should have been asking to be fucked,” he said bluntly. “Which – don't get me wrong, you were.” James's blush was so deep that they could have checked the ripeness of strawberries in comparison to his cheeks, Teddy noted absently. “But you weren't just asking that. You wanted me to bite. You asked. You kept asking.”

“I... Yeah, but...”

“That's not normal, James,” Teddy said softly. He moved away from the wall and took a couple of steps towards James on the bed. “And I don't mean 'general normal'. I mean 'not normal for an Omega'.” He saw the question on James's lips and answered it before it came out. “I asked Professor McGonagall,” he said. James made a little sound of humiliation and looked away. If his cheeks had have been able to go any redder, Teddy was sure they would have done, but he didn't think they could. “You kept asking me,” Teddy explained. “Begging me.”

“Don't. Please don't.” The words were a whisper. Teddy wanted to do as James asked, but he couldn't, not this time.

“I thought it was me,” Teddy admitted. “I told McGonagall I couldn't do it. Not when you kept begging like that. But she said... you shouldn't have been asking for a bond, James. And then when I saw Horn touching you...” He took a breath. “James, your parents know.”

“What?” It would have taken a lot for James to look up at Teddy, but that did it. “They... know that we – that we're...”

“Bonded. Yes. I was talking to them when you tripped the alarms,” Teddy admitted. “When you left the room. First Omega ever in Hogwarts history to do that, incidentally. I think you managed to get the point across a whole lot better than I had, especially as you were screaming out for me.”

“Oh fuck,” James whispered, fervently.

He was looking away again. Teddy could see other memories flooding back to James: he wondered how much he'd lost during the time he was in heat. It had never occurred to Teddy, not once, that James's memories might not be as clear and vivid as his own, but it was evident that this was the case. James honestly didn't know – didn't understand – quite what it had been like, having a desperate Omega begging to be bonded. Even if he remembered, he probably wouldn't understand.

“I tried not to, James,” Teddy said softly. “I went away. But you...”

“I came after you,” James said, his head dipping down. His voice was low and despairing, the sort of tone Teddy wanted never, ever, to come from his life partner's mouth. “Because I couldn't bear to be apart from you.” He swore, softly, under his breath. “Merlin, what a mess. You must think I'm an idiot.”

“Don't, Jamie.”

Teddy could feel James's pain. He could feel his pain as if they were the same person. It was – it was like, Teddy thought grimly, they were bonded. Was this how it was now? Every time James was hurt, so was Teddy? Then he looked at James, and realised he didn't care. He'd do anything for his James. He _wanted_ to know when James was hurt, so he could help. Teddy walked across and sat next to his boyfriend, taking his hands.

“I've never thought you're an idiot,” he said. “And James, know this. I would never, ever, have bonded with you if you didn't want it. I swear it. I promise on my life. But... I didn't bond just because you wanted it. Nor because I was mad with whatever the pheromones were you were giving off that made that little bastard attack you... If you know his name, don't tell me, because I still want to murder him,” he added with a quick, apologetic smile. “I did it because I love you. Because I wanted to be with you. Forever. I,” - and it was Teddy's turn to blush now, and he knew he was doing it - “I said things, to you, when we were first bonded. You probably don't remember them...”

“I do,” said James, quickly enough to be believable.

“...I meant them.” Teddy put his face to James's neck, sliding in the gap between his shoulder and head and breathing him in deeply. “I still mean them,” he said softly. “You might be mine – you _are_ mine,” he corrected himself with a sudden burst of possessiveness, “but I'm yours, too. This will never be the sort of one way bond we'd both hate, James. I want a partner, an equal. A boyfriend.”

“Yeah?” James's voice was soft and almost sweet. He was nuzzling back against Teddy, his arms slipping around him. “I – I'd like that.”

“Mm.” Teddy kissed James's neck. Unable to help himself, he moved his mouth around and licked over the bond mark. It drew him in, every time. He found it hard to resist. James trembled, just for a second, and made the tiniest noise of contentment. It was possibly the most beautiful thing Teddy had ever heard. “James Potter,” he said, “will you be my boyfriend?”

*

“Will you be my boyfriend?”

They were the most wonderful words James had ever had spoken to him, and he had to blink to stop tears coming to his eyes. For god's sake, he was an adult. He was a man. Teddy should not reduce him to tears just by asking a simple question.

Except it wasn't so simple. Because James was an Omega, life-bonded to Teddy. He belonged to Teddy, body, heart and soul, and there was nothing he could do about it. Teddy could do anything to him, and James would have no recourse. His own self would betray him, forcing him to obey; and even if later he recovered his wits enough to object, the law was absolute: he was Teddy's possession, and Teddy could do what he wanted with him. Less rights even than an animal – Teddy could hurt him, humiliate him, _rape_ him, and legislation stated that was all perfectly legal. Yet Teddy was asking him to be his boyfriend; his partner. His equal.

“You know I will,” James said.

“Yes, but...” With obvious reluctance, Teddy let go of James and moved away. “I mean, would you like to be? Not because you have to. We're bonded, and we will have to find a way to live with that, but – outside of that bond, will you... will you be my boyfriend?”

Teddy sounded tentative. Unsure. As if James had given him any reason to doubt. James shut his eyes for a second, trying to work out how Teddy could possibly have any doubt about James's feelings. Damn it, Teddy had spelt it out, not ten minutes earlier. _“You begged me for it... First Omega in Hogwarts history to trip the alarms... screaming out for me...”_ James could hardly have made his love any more blatant.

“You know I will,” he said again, standing up and taking Teddy's hands. He looked into Teddy's eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Teddy leaned in and kissed James gently on the lips. James reached out to him, and the time for words fell away, as they discovered each other in this new way, out of the frenzy of James's heat. As boyfriends. After a while, however, Teddy pulled back. “We'll get away with this – with having a relationship – because we're bonded, James, but in any other circumstances it would be entirely inappropriate, and I know it. I'm a teacher, and you're a pupil,” he said seriously. “We can't be – well, like any other couple in the school. During school hours, in front of any of the other students, we've got to be professional.” He smiled suddenly. “Okay, _I've_ got to be professional, and you can be an arse if you like because you're a student, but I'll put you in detention like I would anyone else if you are.”

“I'm still... taking my NEWTs, then?” James asked, tentatively.

Teddy frowned. “What the hell else did you think was going to happen? What, I'm supposed to keep you locked up, barefoot and pregnant in my Hogwarts chambers? Seriously, James?”

 _Barefoot and pregnant._ Pregnant. Shit, the word hit James like a bludger to the head. If it hadn't been for Madam Pomfrey's potion, there was a fair chance (who was he kidding? There was a certainty.) that he would actually be pregnant now. That was an awful enough thought. Worse was a sudden memory of something James had said in the heat of their mating. _”I want your babies.”_ Oh god, oh god, oh god, James had actually said that. Actually told Teddy...

The thought was unbearable. He squirmed away from his boyfriend, hiding his head in his arms.

“Don't. Please.”

“What? Oh.”

Oh shit, that meant Teddy had remembered too. And hadn't before. And now James had reminded him. Fuck.

Teddy leaned over and pulled James back into his arms. “Jamie, I'm sorry. I didn't think. I didn't mean anything. You can't help what happens in heat, James.” His words were urgent, sincere. Loving. “I could just as well apologise for having a knot. And the fact that after I bit you, there was no way on this earth I wouldn't have knotted you too.”

“I wanted it,” James whispered.

“Don't think I wasn't tempted by you bearing my kids, either,” Teddy muttered grimly. “Despite the fact we both know that we don't want children for – well, bloody hell, at least a decade; dunno about you?”

“Never even thought about having kids, let alone _having_ them,” James retorted, still unable to meet Teddy's eyes.

“Yes, well, maybe we need an agreement. What happens in heat stays in heat. I swear there's a line in a Muggle film a bit like that.”

“I don't want to know,” James assured him, absently thinking that his father's Muggle obsessions had rubbed off on both of them. Flitwick. He'd said something that reminded James of the White Rabbit in _Alice in Wonderland_. He was always going to think of Flitwick as a rabbit now. Bother.

“I don't think it was about anything like that,” Teddy said, faint amusement in his voice. “In fact, I'm pretty sure it wasn't. But the same thing applies. You'll probably come into heat two or three times a year, so we'd better get used to it. But it's not,” - he waved a hand vaguely, almost catching James's arm accidentally. James had forgotten how clumsy Teddy could be - “it's not our real life. _This_ is real, Jamie. You and me. But not because of the bonding thing, okay? Because we want it.” He hesitated. “You do want it, don't you?”

“Teddy!” James was out of heat, and he still felt the desire, albeit much lessened, to kneel at Teddy's feet and do everything his boyfriend asked him to. To be with him forever, in whatever way Teddy wanted him. “Of course I do. You're...” The word 'everything' died on his lips. It was not James-like to say any such thing. “My boyfriend,” he said.

“Yes,” said Teddy. He hesitated. “Look, before we return to the normal world, we need to decide a few things. Like, where are you going to sleep? You can stay in your Hogwarts dormitory, of course, but if you want to be with me... it's not exactly supposed to happen, but they couldn't stop us. Given the circumstances.”

And James was tempted. He was very tempted to be with Teddy. But it was going to be bad enough being an Omega and having that 'difference' held over him all the time at school. Bad enough that he was soul-bonded at seventeen years old. Not that he regretted it – not really – but it was still... well. Not how he'd envisaged his life going, put it that way. The more he could keep on normal terms, the better.

“No,” he said, on a soft sigh. “I'll stay in the dorm. We're supposed to be teacher and pupil. We'll aim for that. Can't promise all the time, but if we make everything as much like that as possible... It's not like I'm going to _forget_ what's between us.” He nudged Teddy's shoulder with his head. “Or want to forget,” he added.

“You're right.” Teddy's arms tightened around James. “And believe me, I'm not going to allow you to forget you're mine,” he murmured. “I can't help it, Jamie; I'm possessive.” James felt warmth flow through him at Teddy's words. He ought not to be turned on by the thought of being owned, but when it was Teddy who was doing the owning – and when Teddy made it quite clear that he wanted more than an obedient little slave of James – there was something undeniably hot about the idea.

“Yours,” James murmured back.

“And I'm yours,” Teddy added quickly. He tilted James's head up and kissed the bite mark one more time. “God, I love seeing that on you,” he admitted. Sighing, he stepped away. “Come on. Time you got in the shower, and got yourself cleaned up and sorted. Then I'll do my best to heal some of those marks I've made on you. You must be sore.”

“Just a bit,” James confessed.

He showered, and Teddy healed the bruises on James's body (though he admitted guiltily that he could do little about the soreness in James's arse, which was beginning to cause James some severe discomfort) before offering him the clean robes that the House Elves had left on a chair outside their room. When he moved his wand towards the bonding bite on James's neck, however, James put his hand up to stop him.

“No, don't vanish that. I think I need it. At any rate, I want it.”

“Everyone will see,” Teddy warned. “They'll know.”

James smiled ruefully. “They'll need to know anyway. Or they'll find out. You know they will.”

“I don't want to get rid of it,” Teddy admitted. “In fact, I don't ever want to let it fade. Will you hate me if I keep biting you?”

“I might hate you if you stop.” James ran his hands through his damp hair. “God, it's nice to feel a bit more like _me_ again, you know?”

“I do know.” Teddy gave a little grin, and James felt his heart turn over at the sight of it. “Though you are kind of hot when you're -”

“Don't say it,” James said quickly.

He knew exactly – well, actually, he didn't know 'exactly' what he was like in heat; it was all a bit vague; but he knew well enough – what he'd been like, and it was exceptionally mortifying to think about. Even now, he had this curious thing going on where if Teddy gave him a direct order, he felt compelled to obey it; and that was bloody weird enough, thank you. But the whole 'world-rises-and-sets-on-Teddy-I'll-beg-him-for-anything' vibe which had been going on over the past three days... Well, James could do without having any of that spelt out for him, thank you very much.

“Hey, I fell in love with you, not an Omega,” Teddy said, quick to reassure. He knew James's sensitive spot, and clearly intended to prevent it developing any further than it already had. Though, of course, the fact that he was so evidently aware of it told its own story. The grin he'd already been sporting widened. “Though that in itself may give me more than one reason to want to bite you.”

James's cock throbbed even at the thought of Teddy's teeth in his claim mark. It was frightening how much he still wanted Teddy to sink his teeth into him, even out of heat. He reminded himself that Teddy was offering a gentle insult, suggesting that he was irritating enough that Teddy would want to bite him for the sheer hell of it.

“Oh, shut up,” he snapped back, giving Teddy a little shove, just as they'd been doing since James was a kid. It was odd – so much had changed between them in the past few days, and yet so much was still the same. It was comforting, somehow. Teddy was much, much more to James than he'd ever been before, but he was still – Teddy.

Teddy had slid the wand back into his robes. He put his arms around James from behind. “Now, now. No need to be like that about it.” He ran his tongue over the mark on James's neck, and James felt his head leaning back to rest on Teddy's shoulder. Merlin, the sensation of Teddy touching that part of him sent him boneless in seconds, unable to concentrate on anything but the feeling.

“Come on, then,” Teddy said reluctantly, at length. “I suppose we ought to get going. Merlin knows what's happened to my classes in the past few days, and you'll have some catching up to do. At least it’s Sixth rather than Seventh Year, I suppose.”

“Yeah.” James felt a tightness in his chest. Now the moment had come, he wasn't sure he could do it. Walk out of this room and back into the school as if nothing had changed. Especially since last time he'd left the room, someone had nearly...

“You okay?” Teddy asked.

“Yeah. No,” James admitted. “Scared shitless.”

Teddy's hand reached out to grip his shoulder firmly. “You'll be fine.”

“I'm an Omega.”

“You do know that that makes you one of the most important and amazing people in the world, right?” Teddy asked. “Do you know how rare and special Omegas are?”

“Yeah,” said James dryly, “really special. So special I have no rights. Feeling really bloody lucky here, Mr Alpha.” Because, although he loved him, how could Teddy understand? He'd been the fastest presenting Alpha ever. The _Alpha-iest_ Alpha Hogwarts had known. And James was a frigging Omega. He hesitated, rubbing his neck. “Could you... glamour this a bit?” he asked nervously. “I'm not – ashamed, it's just it's really obvious, and...”

“Making you a tad self-conscious?”

Teddy ruffled James's hair (another familiar gesture), and then found his wand, tapping it against the mark. James could still feel it as much as he could before – thank Merlin for that: it was a comfort and a reassurance to have it there. But he trusted Teddy's magic, and knew that it would not be noticeable to everyone else. Enough that they were all going to know he was an Omega; he wasn't sure he was ready for discussions of life-bonds right now.

“Thanks.”

An hour later, dosed up on more potions from Madam Pomfrey (fortunately she had known about the pain that James was suffering because there was no way in hell he had been going to tell her that he could barely sit thanks to Teddy having pounded his arse for three days straight), James was heading towards the Potions classroom. Okay. He could do this. He was not going to sneak in there like he was ashamed of himself. He was James Sirius Potter, named after two great men, and with a father who had saved the fucking world, for god's sake. Sure, he wasn't the Alpha he'd always assumed he was going to be, but he was still the same man. And he was going to act like it. He opened the door to the light, airy classroom (apparently, they'd used to have Potions lessons in the dungeons, which sounded like the worst idea in the world – ventilation, anyone?) and strolled in, cool as you like.

“Sorry I'm late, Professor,” he said casually to Professor Patil.

James was aware that the eyes of the entire class were on him. He ignored them all, keeping his gaze on the teacher. Fuck, he'd forgotten that Kevin Hawthorne took Potions as well – he hoped the other boy was feeling as embarrassed about his behaviour in Charms as James was. James risked a glance around. Across the room, his best mate, Casper Abbott, was giving him a thumbs up and patting the seat beside him. Good old Casper. His seventeenth birthday wasn't for another month, so at least he wasn't going to be physically affected by James's new status. It was curious, actually: James could tell, just like that, who the Alphas in the room were. Patil wasn't one of them: his Professor was a definite Beta. But there were Hawthorne and MacMillan from Hufflepuff (MacMillan was the only female Alpha in the class); Thompson from Ravenclaw; Gillingham, a Slytherin; and of course Aidan O'Brien from Gryffindor. James had never much got on with O'Brien: they'd both been too inclined to want to take charge, and O'Brien had never really forgiven James for the fact that it was James's opinions which usually came out top.

“Quite understandable, Potter. Now, please go and sit down,” Professor Patil said briskly.

James took the seat by Casper, who grinned at him. “Good to see you back, mate. Been quiet without you.”

“Yeah.” James couldn't quite say that it was good to be back. There was a funny feeling in the room, and if he were being honest, he felt quite uncomfortable – both physically and mentally. Pomfrey's potions had helped, but his arse was still sore as fuck: Teddy's knot was _big_ , and James had taken it over and over again. Then there was the way people kept looking at him, especially the Alphas. Wasn't that supposed to have stopped now that he was out of heat? Not that they were hitting on him, thankfully; but he was still aware of them looking, and it was bloody off-putting. “What're we doing today?”

“Bursuria. Blood-clotting potion. Don't ask – I have no idea when you'd use it if you weren't haemophiliac, but apparently it came up on the N.E.W.T.s a few years back and no one had heard of it, and Patil isn't ever going to let that happen again.”

James shrugged. “Fair enough.”

They set to work. It had a complicated set of ingredients, and Cas was frowning over some of the instructions. “When it says three and a quarter turns, and then a half anticlockwise, do you think it means 'three and a half' the other way or just one half? I've never seen something with less than a full stir.”

“Potter.” O'Brien spoke from behind them. “Pass me your ginger root.”

Absently, James passed the ginger root over his shoulder. He craned over the book with Casper. “No, I think it does mean just a half. I mean, it'd say three and a half otherwise, wouldn't it?”

“I guess, but -”

“Potter. Fireflies.” O'Brien again.

Slightly irritated this time, James picked up his pot of fireflies and handed it to O'Brien. The frown on Casper's face increased, and James looked at him. “What? Is there another issue?”

“Not with this,” Cas said. “Why the fuck is O'Brien taking your ingredients, James?”

James shrugged. He tended to be laissez faire about his things – easy come, easy go. “Presumably he's run out.”

“No,” said Casper slowly. He narrowed his eyes. “His own fireflies are just there, by his knife. And there's something in the way he's – well, not asking. _Telling_ you.”

Fuck. And James had instinctively done it, too. Sure, he was prepared to hand over his ingredients if someone needed them, but now Cas mentioned it, if O'Brien had demanded like that normally, he'd have told him where to go. He looked round. O'Brien was smirking at him.

“Good little Omega,” he mocked.

James clenched his fists. He would not make a scene. (He'd done quite enough of that lately.) “I'll have my fireflies back,” he said calmly, unclenching one fist to hold out his hand.

The Slytherin Alpha, Gillingham, was on O'Brien's right. He'd stopped potion-making in order to watch. Slytherins and Gryffindors were not natural allies, but apparently when it came to baiting James, that was forgotten.

“He hasn't said 'please', O'Brien,” Gillingham commented. “You want to keep your House in order; make sure everyone knows their _place_.”

“That's right,” O'Brien said. “Say please, Potter.”

“Damned if I will,” James snapped. He reached out a hand for the fireflies, but O'Brien snatched it back out of his reach.

“Don't be an arse, Aidan,” Casper said, turning round.

“He just needs to ask nicely,” O'Brien said, still mocking.

The worst thing was, there was still this sort of _tickle_ in James's brain. An instinct to let it go; to actually say please, just because he'd been asked to. James hated that more than anything. It felt like he was being betrayed by his own bloody mind. Was this seriously how it was now – he'd have this urge to obey Alphas? He'd heard some of the Betas mutter about it before; how, when it came to a ferocious argument with an Alpha, they suddenly had the feeling that they ought to back down. But James had never thought it would happen to him. And O'Brien wasn't even particularly angry, just – as Casper had put it – being a bit of an arse. Still, James was damned if he was going to let him get away with it.

“Give me my things back, O'Brien,” he repeated steadily.

Impasse. There was no way Aidan was going to back down with Gillingham egging him on. Equally no way James could do so. Fortunately, Professor Patil stepped in.

“O'Brien, give Mr Potter back his fireflies, please. And all of you, a little more work and a little less chatting.”

But that was just the beginning.

~

That evening was the scariest.

James came back from getting a repeat potion from Madam Pomfrey (life was just one embarrassment after another at the moment) and headed for bed. He was absolutely knackered. Halfway through changing, he heard the dormitory door open. Turning, he saw O'Brien and Ferdy Hill, the other Alpha male in Gryffindor Sixth Year.

“Undressing, Potter?” Hill drawled.

“Yeah. Thought I'd get an early night,” James said.

“Must be exhausting, getting fucked for three days straight,” O'Brien commented.

James thought about denying it, but there was little point. However much he might dislike it, everyone bloody knew what had been going on with him over the past few days.

“Something like that,” he said curtly, tugging off his shirt and reaching for his pyjama top.

“Still,” Hill butted in, “you must miss it. After all that time.”

“We're here to help you out,” O'Brien added. “Thought you might be missing cock, and we could provide.”

Hill reached over and plucked James's pyjamas from his bed, swinging them around in his hand idly.

“Yeah, very funny,” James said wearily. “Give me my PJs back.”

“Oh,” said Hill, “it isn't a joke. Everyone knows how much Omegas like being fucked.”

James stilled at the tone of voice, which definitely didn't sound as if Hill was joking. He cast a hasty look round for his wand, just to be on the safe side.

O'Brien, smiling maliciously, waggled it between his fingers. “Looking for this?” he asked.

He tossed it backwards over his shoulder, and it landed on one of the other beds. Hill and O'Brien were both standing between James and his wand. They were also, James couldn’t help but notice, standing between James and the dorm door. Fuck. James's heart was beating fast. He could take one of them, possibly both on a good day. But this definitely wasn't a good day – and they both had their wands and James did not. Still, they couldn't possibly mean what it sounded like they meant. Okay, James didn't get on with O'Brien – though he'd previously had no quibble with Hill, who was just rather boring, in James's opinion: quite the most improbable Alpha he'd ever known of – but that didn't mean the boy was going to try and...well, rape him, surely? He put his hand to his neck, touching the place where Teddy had bitten him. Weird, how quickly that had become a habit.

“You're not seriously intending to rape me?” James was quite proud of how steady his voice sounded. It was as if it wasn't related to the part inside of him which was _freaking the hell out_.

“Nah,” said Hill. “It isn't rape. You're an unbonded Omega. You're gagging for it. Everyone knows that.”

“I'm not in heat any more.” This was supposed to have stopped, for fuck's sake, James thought frantically. Except Hill and O'Brien weren't going mad, the way it had been in Charms – the way Horn had been. They sounded quite sane – at least, as sane as anyone who was threatening a fellow student with rape could sound. Normal. Casual. As if this was all quite fine. Fuck, fuck, fuck. James was scared. Terrified, truthfully. He pushed the feeling down and looked at Hill, trying to stare him out.

“You still belong to any Alpha who wants you,” O'Brien said. “God, don't you know anything? You're nothing. Just a thing. I've been wanting to put you in your place for years, Potter.” He laughed cruelly. “Turns out your place is under me.”

“Don't be ridiculous,” James said, trying to sound confident. But O'Brien walked over to him and put a hand on James's wrist. James shoved him, hard; but O'Brien kept his grip. “You surely don't think you can get away with this. Whatever the law says about Alphas, McGonagall will have your head if you assault me.”

“Who's going to tell her?” O'Brien murmured. “Do you think she'd believe the word of an Omega over two Alphas?”

“Get off me,” gritted James, furiously. He tried to wrench his wrist away, but Hill spoke.

“Stay still, Potter. I don't want to have to hex you, but I will.”

James looked up and saw that Hill did indeed have his wand levelled at him. O'Brien's other hand was now splayed against James's exposed chest. James hesitated: push O'Brien off and risk Hill hexing him (and the other boy would, James knew)? Or not, and let him carry on with what he had in mind? Both options were unthinkable.

James hated how much he wished Teddy was here with him now. _I won't let anyone hurt you,_ Teddy had said. He remembered how he'd screamed for Teddy when Horn had touched him. But he wasn't in heat now, and he had too much pride to yell for his Alpha. He needed to sort out his own problems, just like he always had. Just because he was an Omega didn't make him a walkover. It _mustn't._ Instinctively, James's fingers went once more to his neck. Teddy. God, Teddy.

“We're not going to bite you,” O'Brien mocked, seeing the movement. “Don't worry. Not that it counts, out of heat.” His expression changed, and he was suddenly staring at James in a very different fashion, his mouth dropping open. “Wait a minute. You've already been bitten,” he said slowly. Disbelievingly.

“What the fuck?” Hill came closer, wand still up.

“Get. Off. Me.” James's voice was dangerous.

“He's fucking _bonded_.” Hill's comment exploded out of him.

James dropped his hand. The glamour must have faded. Both young men were staring at his neck as if _it_ had bitten _them_. Apparently, James's life-bond was now a matter of public information. It wasn't the way he'd wanted the news to get out, but it seemed to have stopped Hill and O'Brien, at least temporarily. O’Brien still had hold of his wrist, but the hand which had been on James’s chest had dropped to O’Brien’s side.

“Say it a bit louder,” James said, still scared, but trying to hide his fear under sarcasm. “Someone in the Slytherin dungeon might not have heard you.”

There was a clattering on the stairs, and the dormitory door pushed open. Fuck, James didn't think he could cope with a third person. He breathed a quick sigh of relief when he saw it was Casper. O'Brien's grip had loosened and James took advantage to pull away, still able to feel the pressure where his fingers had been, the heat on his chest from O'Brien's hand. He fought the urge to shudder.

“Hi Cas. Toss me my wand, would you please?” he said, his voice tight. “It's over on the bed near you.”

Casper did so, almost automatically. James could see him looking between O'Brien and Hill, and James. He didn't want to know if Cas had worked out what had been going on up here. 

“What were you yelling about?” Casper asked Hill, as politely as if they were just having a normal conversation.

“He's fucking _bonded_ ,” Hill said, his voice hoarse.

“Don't be ridiculous. He hasn't got a mark. I was sat next to him all day,” Casper said. “Tell 'em, James. What are they on about this time?”

“Um...” James's brain had got lost somewhere between _I'm going to get raped_ and _My bond's public knowledge_. Trying to come up with a sensible explanation for his best friend was beyond him.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Casper took two steps further into the room and leaned heavily on one of the bed posts.

“May I please have my pyjama top?” 

James suddenly realised that bond or not, he was still half-naked and not five minutes ago, two out of the three boys in front of him had been making fairly explicit threats. That seemed to have been neutralised by the shock of his bonding, but James would feel considerably more comfortable were he more dressed. Hill handed it over, silent with stupor. 

“Who?” Cas asked next, sounding as shell-shocked as Hill looked.

“For fuck's sake, Abbott, you can't be that stupid!” O'Brien snapped, stepping away from James finally.

James shrugged his way into his top, not wanting to know how everyone appeared to know everything about him.

“He's not in Transfiguration,” Hill reminded him. “Your boy here,” he said to Casper, his voice still disbelieving, “belongs to Professor Lupin now. Don't you?” he demanded of James.

“Not precisely the way I'd put it,” James said, suddenly realising he felt sick. “But yes, we've bonded.”

“Bloody hell. James,” Cas began, “he's your -”

“I know,” James snapped. Then, “Sorry.” He stumbled towards the door, barely aware of the fact he was wearing an interesting combination of trousers and pyjama top. “I've got to...” Get out. Throw up. Run as far away from Hill and O'Brien as possible. He couldn't say any of that. He was damned if he would let them know how much they'd got to him. “... Talk to Al,” he finished, with inspiration. “I should – you know, probably tell him.”

“Yeah,” said Casper, still dazed. “Yeah, might be a good idea to tell Al you're bonded with your god-brother, eh? Did he even know you've been -”

“Yes,” said James desperately, wondering whether Cas could do anything but make the comments that James least wanted to hear spoken out loud.

He dashed for the stairs, slipped on them halfway down, and took the rest rather more cautiously. It had been an excuse, but he really had better talk to Albus. If he could speak to anyone without puking or having a full-blown panic attack, that was. His reaction to what had just happened was beginning to hit now. He'd nearly been raped by two boys he'd known for six years. Shared a room with for six years. What the hell was he supposed to do with that knowledge? Breathing heavily, he sat at the bottom of the stairs, unable to open the door and go through into the Common Room, but at the same time, not wanting ever to go back to the dormitory. When he heard the door above open again, he was forced into movement, however. Safety in numbers. The Common Room was a damn sight safer than the stairs. Picking himself up, and trying to put some of his trademark swagger back in his step (it had always been a bit of a fake; fun to do, entertaining to see how it affected different people), he walked in. A quick look around, and he saw his brother, laughing with a couple of other Fifth Years.

“Albus.”

He jerked his head instructively. After a quick word with his friends, Al got up and walked over. At least someone was still doing as he asked them, James thought ruefully. Unlike Hill and O’Brien, who… He cut off that train of thought as best he could, biting heavily down on his lip.

“Hey, bro. Rumour had it you were out of quarantine,” Al teased, giving him a friendly shove. “Miss me, did you?”

“Yeah. About that,” James said. “First – um, thanks for... you know.”

“Didn't we have a 'never talk about it again' pact?” Albus asked. “If not, please can we?”

“Absolutely,” James said quickly. “The other thing, which you'd probably better hear from me, is -”

But Al was looking at him, and James's words died in his throat. His _marked_ throat.

“I, er...” Al coughed, lifted a hand towards James's neck, and then dropped it again quickly, as if he'd been burnt. James was kind of relieved; he didn't like the thought of anyone touching his mark who wasn't Teddy. “I think I can see what the other thing is.”

“Yeah,” said James awkwardly.

“Yeah,” said Albus, equally awkwardly.

They looked at each other for a few seconds.

“So,” said James. “That.”

“Right. Um... Congratulations? I guess?” Albus looked supremely uncomfortable. James was apparently getting good at making that expression appear on his brother's face. This was, at least, not quite as bad as last time. About which they were, thank Merlin, never speaking again.

“I guess,” James agreed.

“You and Teddy, eh?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought...”

“So did I. So did Teddy. But it didn't work out like that.” James shrugged, trying not to blush.

It was fortunate, he suddenly thought, that it hadn't. If he hadn't been bonded, he would currently be being raped in his dormitory. The sick feeling was back in his stomach, and something must have shown on his face, because Al suddenly had a hand on his shoulder and was saying, in a tone akin to panic,

“Jamie, he didn't force you, did he? I mean...” He trailed off.

“No, no,” James said hastily. It wasn't _Teddy_ who had forced him into anything. And Merlin, the last thing either of them needed was the rumour getting round that he'd been forced into a bond. “It was... kind of my idea, I guess? Um, so yeah. Look, I was about to go...” James trailed off. He wasn't sure he could face going back to the dorm.

“Go to bed. Yeah, I noticed you were wearing an interesting combination of clothing,” Al agreed. “And of course Teddy wouldn't force you. Sorry. It's just, you looked a bit odd.”

“Odd few days,” James said briefly. “Actually, I'm... not that tired after all. Might just – sit by the fire for a bit. Um, have you seen Lily? I should probably talk to her, too.”

“She went to bed a while back,” Albus said. “I worry about her, Jamie. She's too bloody sensible. It's unnatural.”

James managed half a smile, as he knew Al had intended. “Maybe she'll grow into irresponsibility,” he suggested. “Especially with you as an example.”

Al nodded, mock-seriously. “One can but hope. One can but hope.” He hesitated. “James?”

“Yes?”

Albus apparently changed his mind. He forced a smile. “Nothing. Good luck. I'd better get back. Amy had just got to the good bit in her story, and she promised to wait for the punchline till I'd finished speaking to you. She'll kill me if I'm longer. See you around.”

“Not if I see you first.” It was a long time joke between the pair.

Al waved a specific couple of fingers at his brother and vaulted back over a chair to his friends. James, his legs still shaking, sat down quietly alone, and tried his best not to think.

Ten minutes later, Casper sat down next to him.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” James said.

“I can't believe you didn't tell me.” Casper wasn't looking at James.

“I was just... trying to get used to it myself,” James said weakly.

“Mm.” Casper was silent for a few minutes. Then, “Up there,” he said.

James said nothing.

“Please tell me it wasn't what it looked like.”

James said nothing again. What could he say? _Yeah, Casper, two of our classmates just threatened to rape me._ The silence hung in the air.

“Oh,” Cas said at last. He glanced across at James, frowning. “I think they're scared of Lupin,” he added.

James knew it for the reassuring comment it was intended to be, even if it was somewhat mortifying to have your safety reliant on people being scared of your Alpha. “Hope so,” he said briefly.

“The bond – you're pleased about it?” Casper asked tentatively. “You're okay?”

Okay? James was a lot of things, but he was pretty sure okay wasn't one of them. He sighed, and smiled at his friend. None of this was Cas's fault.

“Yeah, Cas. I'm okay,” he said.

~

When he did get to bed, though, James didn't sleep. He'd spelled the curtains around his four-poster locked: his dorm mates could probably undo the spells, but not without at least waking James (who had his wand safely to hand, under his pillow) and probably the rest of the dormitory. James hoped, and mostly believed, that out of the six other people he shared a room with, someone there would be against the idea of rape. Nonetheless, every time he closed his eyes he kept flashing back on the incident, or imagining he heard someone getting out of bed and coming towards him, and it was enough to jerk him fully back to wakefulness.

In the morning, he got up and went downstairs before any of the rest of them were awake. If he could catch Lily before anyone else told her about his bonding, that would be useful. The Common Room had a few other early risers in it, but Lily wasn't one of them. Thankfully, they were younger kids and paid little attention to James, so he picked up one of the parchments he'd been given with details of the work he'd missed over the past three days and started looking through it. Engrossed in his work, he didn't notice O’Brien's approach until the other boy was nearly on him.

“Oi, Potter.”

James knew O'Brien's voice after six years together. His hand closed firmly on his wand as he got to his feet. No way was he giving O'Brien the advantage of height.

“What?” he gritted.

O'Brien looked him over, his gaze resting longest on James's neck. James hoped he wasn't flushing.

“Godric, so it is true,” O'Brien said at last. They glared at each other over the back of one of the sofas. “You really are Lupin's bitch.”

“Fuck off, O'Brien.” James was definitely going red now; he wasn't sure whether it was fury, or embarrassment, or a mixture of both. He also knew, with a horrible certainty, that the descriptor was going to stay. In the course of a few days, he'd gone from potential future Head Boy to... Lupin's bitch. There was just enough truth in it – in the eyes of the law, he belonged to Teddy; he'd been thoroughly fucked by him, and could have his babies; even Teddy's werewolf dad led to the epithet being seen as more appropriate – to make it stick. It was also possibly the most mortifying way of describing Teddy and James's bond, which would make it particularly satisfying for O'Brien. James hadn't realised quite how much his House mate disliked him until yesterday.

“Lupin's bitch,” O'Brien repeated, just as the door to the girls' dormitories swung open and James's sister walked out. “Lupin's fucking bitch.”

James ignored him, turning half away. What was there to say? “Hey, Lils,” he called.

Lily had already been looking at him. James had nursed a faint hope she hadn't heard O'Brien's words, but the hope, such as it was, was crushed by the look on her face.

“James,” she said.

She came over and gave him a quick hug: even at thirteen, Lily had no trouble with being physically affectionate with her brothers. James was old enough now not to be bothered; when he'd been thirteen/fourteen himself, it had been a little embarrassing to get off the Hogwarts Express and be almost strangled by a tiny red-head. Today, however, he was honestly grateful for her affection.

“Come for a walk,” he invited. He didn't quite turn his back on O'Brien, not trusting him not to throw a hex. O'Brien himself, however, gave a little disdainful smirk and turned away. James pretended to ignore him, and concentrated on Lily. “I've got some stuff to talk to you about,” he said, trying to keep his voice light.

They left the portrait hole, and Lily said: “I know, you know.” James gave her a quick look. “About the Omega thing,” she added, and he started breathing again. “It's been all over the school. But you're not...” She broke off, clearly not sure how to finish the statement. “Why did you just let O'Brien talk to you like that?” she asked; and James wasn't sure whether it was a change of subject or not. “And what did he mean about Teddy?”

That was their Lily. Straight to the point. James sighed, and then took a long breath in.

“So. Omegas. Pretty shit all round, is probably the gist of what you've heard,” he said bluntly. No point in sugar-coating anything; it was all going to be quite evident. “What else? Anything about bonding?”

“Well yes, but...” Lily looked at him with sharp eyes. “You mean Teddy's gay?”

James snorted with completely unexpected laughter. Of all the things to pick up on in this conversation, his little sister had to pick on _that_?

“Oh right, you're not asking about me?”

She shrugged. “I've had three days to get used to that one,” she said practically. “Apparently it's usually a thing. But Teddy... Damn it, I was going to marry him when I grew up,” she said, half-teasing. She blushed a little when he looked at her, and shrugged. “Okay, so that's not on. But you and him – you mean...?”

“Yeah. We're a couple. Well, more than that,” James acknowledged. Another breath. “As to the stuff being said... well, I've no idea what people have been saying in my absence, but I don't imagine it was great. It's not going to get better, Lils. I'm just going to have to learn to live with it.” His hand closed gently on her wrist. “Don't get involved. It's not your battle.”

“Mm. And if it were me?” she challenged him.

Fuck, if anyone even considered treating Lily like this... James thought of last night, and had a vision of Lily in his place, with O'Brien and Hill stalking towards her...

“That's different. I'm your big brother. It's my job,” he said, forcing back a shudder and trying for a smile. “But seriously, just ignore it. That’s what I'm going to do – well, I'm going to try,” he added: Lily was difficult to lie to. “It's not worth our effort. As long as you know that I'm not... quite as shit as they're going to make me out to be, right?” He tried not to think about his sister listening to the sexual innuendo and worse. Sure, at thirteen she'd have heard it all before – or most of it – but there was something different when it was related to him.

“Okay. I'm not going to embarrass you, Jamie,” she said. Smiled. “No more than usual.”

“Thanks, Lils. And – I'm sorry if this makes things hard on you,” James added.

“Could be worse,” Lily said blithely. “Salton's brother is a complete tosser. If he weren't in a different House, he'd be breaking all Salton's things – apparently that's what he does at home. Now, are we going to have any breakfast? It's Quidditch this afternoon, isn't it?”

“Yeah.” James's heart sank. Quidditch practice. Why did he think that was going to be another 'fun' occasion? “Two o'clock. Don't be late. If someone nobbles Albus, we'll need our substitute Seeker. And you're the best we've got after him.”

“Oh, shut up,” Lily said, shoving him; but he could see she was still smiling.

Predictably, by the time Quidditch practice arrived, James's whole life had been hung out to dry and gossiped over to death, at least in Gryffindor House. Which meant by the end of the weekend, it would be all across Hogwarts because that was the way it worked. James had fielded more insults and ribald comments in one morning than he had in the rest of his Hogwarts career combined, and he was consequently ruffled and stressed by the time he went down to the pitch. Usually, Quidditch calmed him – he knew he was talented, and flying was absolutely natural to him. He was also a confident captain: he understood the rules of the game, was good at getting his team to understand them, and they were happy to do what he said. _Had been_ happy to do what he said. James had a feeling that was all about to change.

He was right.

There was silence as everyone changed into their Quidditch robes, but once they were out on the pitch, James could feel the tension.

Ignoring it, he said, “Okay, everyone. On your brooms, and let's do a couple of laps first, get ourselves warmed up.”

“Says who?” Nick McLaggen, James's fellow Beater, was the first to raise a challenge.

James rolled his eyes. “Says me. Quidditch Captain, remember? It's kind of my job.”

“And who says you've got any clue what you're doing, let alone the right to order the rest of us around?”

Nick was a Seventh Year Alpha – the only Alpha in the squad. It had been in some ways a shock move that James had been made Captain above him. But then everyone, Nick included, had presumed that James would be an Alpha before the year was out; and there was ( _had been_ , James's mind put in automatically) no doubt that James was the best player on the team. Plus, they all liked him more. Or they had. Nick had got the Vice-Captain role, and he'd been all right at it, actually, once he'd realised that he wasn't going to be able to boss James into doing what he wanted. Now, though, it was a different matter. However, James had known this was coming, and he was prepared for it.

“I'm the same person I was last week,” he said coolly. “Didn't hear you complaining then.”

“No. You're not.” Nick sneered at him. He was right, to a degree, too – however much James didn't want to admit it. James was finding that he was aware of Nick's Alphaness in a way he'd never been before. He was grateful to discover, however, that the urge to be submissive towards him was totally squashed beneath the urge to punch Nick hard in the face. Some things didn't change: he'd always found Nick a bit of a wanker, though an undeniably brilliant Quidditch player (albeit not up to James's own standard). “Not sure you're even a person any more, are you?”

He stalked up to James and put fingers against the bite on his neck, and James pushed him off, trying not to let the fury at anyone touching his mark overtake him. He needed to be calm and controlled now – the last thing he could do was react. That would only make him look like he wasn't mentally tough enough to be Quidditch Captain. They'd take any excuse, James knew.

“Get off me, McLaggen,” he said sharply.

“Who's going to make me? Your _owner_?”

James felt a presence at his left side. Al.

“Out of order, Nick,” Al said quietly.

Nick looked at Al. “Oh yeah? Give it a year or so, and what are you going to be, Albus?”

Al smiled. He had a sinister smile when he put his mind to it. James should know.

“Alive. I wouldn't bet on being able to say the same thing if I were you, Nick.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Of course he isn't,” James said quickly.

“I don't need to,” Al added, his voice still soft and his smile still present.

James had teased him, when Al was first starting Hogwarts, that he might be put into Slytherin. Sometimes, watching Al like this, James couldn't help wondering why he hadn't been. It was almost impressive, when it wasn't aimed at you.

Nick raised his chin. “The team don't want you as Captain,” he said to James brusquely.

“The team have every right to that decision.” James looked around at the others. “Is that correct?”

It was clearly mixed. Of the ten players surrounding him (the six other first teamers, and the first reserves for each position), four clearly wanted him out. Nick; Harold King, the reserve Beater (ulterior motives there, much? James wondered dryly); Jenna Finch-Fletchley, one of the first team Chasers; and Eva Norbert, the reserve Chaser, who had never forgiven James for not picking her as a starter. Four others were firmly on his side – but as two of them were James's brother and sister, and another was his cousin Rose, it hardly made for a good showing. The final two – the Keeper, Dean Finnegan, and one of the other Chasers, John Nott – were undecided. On the other hand, it would be ridiculous trying to Captain a team so pulled apart. Gryffindor would have no chance. And James knew that his first consideration must be the good of the House, not the state of his own pride.

“I suggest picking a new Captain,” he said wearily. “One the entire team can get behind.”

“I'm Vice-Captain.” Nick said immediately. “That makes me next choice.”

“James did say,” Al pointed out gently, “'one the entire team can get behind'. That appears to rule you out, McLaggen.”

Al was small for his age, and Nick was more than two years older, and big. A face-off should have had only one winner, but strangely that wasn't the way it worked. James wondered whether he should rethink his theory that Al was born to be a Beta. Mind you, given James's skill in predicting such matters, perhaps he ought to retire from coming to any conclusions.

“I'd vote for him,” Eva said defiantly.

“Oh, I'm sure you would.” Al kept his voice entirely neutral, and Eva wasn't the only one to look at him suspiciously; but his face was equally blank. “I would not.”

Finally, Keeper Dean Finnegan was voted next Captain. With an apologetic look at James, he said, “Next question – do we keep our team the same, or...?”

“My position's in doubt.” James didn't even phrase it as a question. He'd expected this – both the demotion from Captain, and then being dropped from the team. Never mind that he was their best player and everyone knew it. He was an Omega. It was the last letter of the Greek alphabet for a reason. Last. Least. Unworthy. After what he'd already gone through, it was hardly the worst thing. His chances of being scouted professionally had gone south the moment his Omega status was confirmed, anyway. The school attitude towards him was only mirroring the real world.

“That's ridiculous.”

That was Rose Granger-Weasley, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione's daughter. She looked just like Aunt Hermione, and everyone had somehow expected her to be terrible at flying because of it – Aunt Hermione's inability to master a broom was a family in-joke, partly because she was so brilliant at everything else. But Rose was her father's daughter, and had taken to flying like she was born to it. Her younger brother was less confident, and had no interest in Quidditch in the slightest, but Rose? She'd become a Chaser in her Third Year and never looked back.

“We'll be a flaming laughing stock,” Nick said, throwing James a dirty look. “He's not even a Chaser or some fannying about position.”

“Careful,” drawled Jenna; and Nick backed off a bit. Jenna was one of 'his'; he needed not to lose her support.

“I mean,” he said, “Beater's supposed to be for tough guys. Not nancy boys.”

“Do tell me,” James asked, “is it that I'm an Omega or I'm gay that's got your panties in a twist?”

Nick laughed mockingly. “Oh, like they're different. And how do we know you're not up the duff, nancy?”

James felt as if he had been punched in the gut. He knew the expression must show on his face, too. Because of course, it was true. If it hadn't been for Madam Pomfrey's potion, he probably would be pregnant, too. _I want your babies._ God, only Teddy had heard him say that, but James knew he'd said it and that was the worst. The utter humiliation of being a seventeen year old boy who had been wanting to be _bred_ , for fuck's sake.

Nick laughed again. “God, your face says it all. You are, as well, aren't you?”

James knew he was flushing. He also knew the entire team was staring at him, Lily with the sort of expression which suggested that this was something she hadn't been told about Omegas at any point in her education on the subject so far.

“No,” he gritted out, “I am not. Not that it is any of your fucking business. Would you ask a female Beater that question?”

Nick rolled his eyes. “That's right, you nonce, play the sexism card.”

“Be quiet,” Rose said sharply. “That's quite enough of that. The point is, James is our best Beater. He's our best _player_. He's being scouted for professional teams, for goodness's sake.”

“Not now, he won't be,” Jenna muttered, sotto voce.

She was right, James knew. The one thing he wanted to do above all else. Another thing taken from him.

“B-b-but, you can't get -” Lily was beginning in a tiny voice, her eyes wide. She was the youngest on the squad by two years: the rest were all Years Four and above, whilst Lily was in Year Two. But she was there on merit – all of the Potters were superb fliers, and Lily had the same quick instinct when it came to the snitch as Albus did. Give it another year, and she'd be challenging for his place in the team, James thought.

“Lils, we'll talk about it later,” Al said hastily to their sister, clearly trying to combine a reassuring smile and a pleading look.

“What?” demanded Nick. “Didn't you know Omegas like your brother are only good for two things? Fucking and having babies? It's why they don't have any rights – everyone knows they're just glorified breeding machines.”

James took two steps forward and punched him hard in the jaw. Nick's head fell back at the force of the blow, but there was a calculating smile on his face.

“Congratulations, Potter,” he said maliciously. “I think you just put yourself off the team.”

~

When Al caught up with James forty minutes later, he was sitting at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, looking moodily into it and considering whether it wouldn't just be easiest to walk right in and wait around, hoping that one of the dangerous beasts that were rumoured to live there came and picked him off. He had just had time to start wondering whether he could even do that or whether he would actually have to have Teddy's permission before he was able to off himself when Al slumped down next to him.

“McLaggen's a bastard,” Al said, as an opener.

“Tell me something I don't know,” James said dryly. “I take it I'm no longer a Quidditch player.”

“That,” said Al, plucking some grass and twisting it idly in his fingers, “is still in a state of flux. McLaggen's argument that the punch would result in a ban had any teacher seen it was rather stymied by Rose pointing out that if anyone had heard what he'd been saying to you, he'd be facing considerably more than a mere Quidditch ban.” Al had a little reminiscent smile on his face as he said this. “She channelled Aunt Hermione rather well. But...”

“I'm still an Omega. And that's enough,” said James dully.

“If they want to replace half the team, that's up to them.” Al threw away the bit of grass he was playing with and tugged up a new bit, not looking at James. “Eva's happy to take Rose's place, but they might have an interesting time finding a Seeker, considering they've just lost their current one and the reserve in one fell swoop.”

James turned to look at Al. He knew what Al was telling him. “You can't resign, you three. Albus, it's not worth it.” He sighed. “ _I'm_ not worth it. I've got to learn my new place.”

“You've got to learn fuck,” said Al viciously, tearing out a large handful of turf and throwing it at the nearest tree. Bits of grass rained down around them. “Sorry,” he said, brushing grass off James's face. “Anyway. It's their choice. They don't have to lose me and Rose from the team. All they need to do is keep their best fucking player and it's sorted. Their choice. Hardly a difficult one.”

“Al.” James pulled bits of grass out of Al's messy hair. “Thanks,” he said quietly.

“Had a word with Lils as well,” Albus said. “About – you know.”

“Oh?” James said cautiously. He wasn't sure he wanted to know how his little sister had taken the fact that James could have kids.

“Yeah.” Al rolled his eyes, gave his brother an amused look. “She's bloody thrilled, mate. The idea of you and Teddy having sprogs is probably the best thing that's ever happened in her world. I had to tell her that I didn't think you'd be producing any time soon, and please tell me that's true because I don't think I can cope with baby Jameses right at the moment.”

James gave a snort of laughter which was mostly relief. “Oh. And no, no kids. Pomfrey has potions. Anyway, it's only when I'm...” He stopped suddenly. Talking about heat with Al was too awkward, particularly given Al's experience of James's first heat. “It's not a problem at the moment, anyway,” he finished.

“Cool. So,” said Al briskly, standing up and brushing himself down, “that's where we are. Finnegan's an idiot if he tries to go ahead with the team without us. It'll be interesting to see where McLaggen stands, actually – one game to go, and the Cup in sight, and this his last year. It would be a pity to lose it now.”

“I ought to tell you that you should play for the good of the House,” James said. “That's why I resigned as Captain. But...”

“It wouldn't be for the good of the House,” Al said, “and it certainly wouldn't do me any good. Couldn't catch a thing at the moment, not if it would please McLaggen. So stop looking for the nearest Acrumantula to feed yourself to and go and do something, yeah? Find Teddy. And don't give me that look; I'm not saying that because you're an Omega, but because it's a Saturday afternoon and he's your frigging boyfriend and you probably want to spend some time snogging him. I'm off to see if I can persuade Amy Riggs to do likewise with me for similar reasons.”

He walked away, leaving James to call after him, “TMI, Albus, TMI.”

Al with a girlfriend. Now there was a thought.

*

The knock on the door made Teddy look up optimistically.

“Come in,” he called.

As he'd hoped, it was James. Teddy had made a conscious decision to wait for James to come to him. It felt like he'd done all of the running, to some degree. He was, after all, the one who'd bonded with James. Granted, it had been at James's request (to put it mildly) but after the way James had reacted coming out of heat, Teddy was very cautious about his treatment of his younger lover. He was aware, and James must also be aware, that James would do anything Teddy demanded; it meant that Teddy felt morally obliged to hold back from asking anything of James.

It hadn't been easy. The previous evening, Teddy had had a strong feeling that James was in trouble – that James needed him. His immediate instinct had been to make a dash to Gryffindor Tower and make sure that James was all right. He had paced up and down in his little sitting room, uncertain whether to give in or not. However, about twenty minutes after the feeling started, it had subdued. Teddy had sat down in relief, and decided that James would probably have murdered him had he done anything so embarrassing as invade his privacy merely on the strength of a 'feeling'. Whether Teddy's presence would have helped or hindered him was another moot point.

“Hi. Is it okay that I'm here?” James looked weary, and a little demoralised. Teddy wanted to gather him up into his arms and hold him.

“Of course it is. I'm glad to see you.” Teddy glanced around the room and realised that the sofa was covered in homework parchments from his Fifth Years. He was taking a lot of time to mark each of them, what with the O.W.L.s approaching fast. He piled them up hastily on the table with a flick of the wand. “Here, sit down.”

“Thanks.”

“What's up?”

“Just getting used to... you know.” James wouldn't meet Teddy's eyes. “They know – Gryffindor know – about us. So all of Hogwarts will by the end of tomorrow. Probably by the end of today.”

Teddy gave up on this holding back thing. James was unhappy, and he could feel it. He sat down next to his boyfriend.

“They know we're bonded,” he corrected. “They don't know about us.” He put a hand on James's knee. “Can I kiss you?”

“That would be – nice. A hug would be good,” James admitted.

“I didn't want to presume,” Teddy explained, pulling James into his arms and giving him a chaste kiss.

James tried for a smile. “Instructions from Al. Apparently Saturday afternoons are for snogging your boyfriend – or girlfriend in his case, it seems. He told me to go and find mine.”

“I never thought I'd see the day when you were doing what Albus told you,” Teddy said, grinning.

James's smile faded. “I might feel obliged to, this time next year,” he muttered. “Depending. He's sixteen next month. Give it a year...”

“...and you'll still be you, and Al will still be your little brother,” Teddy finished. “Anyway, you're still ignoring me half the time” - an exaggeration, but an acceptable one in the circumstances - “so I don't think you'll have too much problems ignoring Al, even if he is an Alpha. You're not actually doing everything everyone says, are you?” he asked, slightly concerned. It would drive James mad if he really was.

James gave a sigh and sort of buried himself in Teddy's arms. It was possibly the best feeling ever, having James there. Well, maybe not, Teddy thought, remembering what it was like to have sex with his bond-mate.

“Punched an Alpha today, so no, probably not,” he said into Teddy's jumper.

“You...” Teddy gave something which was half a gasp, half a laugh. “I'm sure as your Professor I should be ticking you off about that, but...” He sobered. “Why?” he added abruptly. For James to hit someone, things would have to have got pretty messy.

“Quidditch,” James said succinctly. “Think I'm off the team.”

“For punching someone?”

“For being me,” he said bitterly. “It's the start of it, isn't it? No Omegas allowed. Bet your dad had something similar with the werewolf thing.”

Teddy had heard stories about the way his father had been treated by the Wizarding World. His blood ran cold at the thought of James being treated in a similar fashion. But James was right. It could, probably would, happen. If anything, Omegas were lower still on the social scale. Murdering a werewolf might not be treated as severely as murdering an ordinary wizard, but it would still count as murder. Someone could kill James, and Teddy would be left suing for 'damage to property', for fuck's sake. (He'd spent a long time looking up some of the regulations concerning himself and James the previous night. It had not made good reading.)

“Oh. Fuck, James, I'm sorry.”

“Knew it would happen.” Teddy could hear that James was trying to make as little of it as possible, but he could feel through the bond how much it actually hurt. “Al, Lils and Rose all resigned from the team,” he added.

“Did they, now?” Teddy smiled. Family loyalty in the Potter-Weasley clan was pretty high. He was proud of them. “And Al told you to come and snog your boyfriend, which you still haven't done, incidentally.”

James looked up, a faint look of mischief on his face. “But as you said, I don't like doing what Albus tells me,” he pointed out.

“Exception?” Teddy suggested.

James's smile grew. “Exception,” he agreed.

The afternoon improved from there.

~

But Teddy was aware that James was having a rough time of it. He hadn't known quite how difficult until Albus cornered him one day and gave a brief but detailed run-down of some of the things James was putting up with. In the course of a week, James had gone from being one of the most popular boys in the school to the most despised. It was a fall from grace which must hurt more for being so utterly undeserved. James had done nothing wrong, had committed no crime for which he was being punished. His only sin was to have been born an Omega, and only now to be showing.

It was nonetheless unexpected when James stopped him after a lesson, about a week later.

“Professor Lupin, can I speak to you?” James's voice was strained. There were dark shadows under his eyes: he looked more tired than he had directly after heat, and Teddy hadn't thought that would be possible.

“Of course.” Teddy kept his voice light and professional. It was pointless, to a degree: the entire class (the entire _school_ ) knew what was between them. At the same time, it was imperative: the bond was separate from their relationship within Hogwarts as teacher and student, and it needed not only to be that way, but to be seen to be that way. He waited until everyone was out of the room, and then closed the door with a flick of his wand. “What's up, James?”

James looked uncomfortable. “I... Can I sleep with you?” he burst out, the words coming quickly as if he needed to say them before he lost courage.

“What?” Teddy was disconcerted. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but it wasn't this.

“At nights. In your rooms. I'll sleep on the floor or something if you want me to,” James said quickly. “It's just...”

“Of course you can. And of course I don't want you to sleep on the floor. But I thought you wanted to keep things as normal as possible, Jamie?” James had seemed so certain.

“I did. I do. But – oh fuck it – I can't sleep,” James admitted. 

Teddy remembered that first evening apart – he'd had a sudden certainty that something was wrong, that James needed him. He'd pushed it down, and eventually the feeling had receded, but maybe he hadn't been so far away from the truth. A wave of guilt hit Teddy – should he have listened more closely to his instincts?

“Are you all right?” he asked sharply.

“Yes; yeah. But… I think... I think I need to be with you,” James said, looking down and away.

Teddy could scent fear on James, as well as anxiety. James was actually terrified that Teddy would turn him down or laugh at him. Teddy wanted to tell him that he would never do either of those things, but he wasn't sure how to broach the subject without making it clear that he was aware of what James was thinking. Was that an invasion of privacy, even if Teddy couldn't help it? Succumbing to irresistible temptation, he pulled James into his arms for a few seconds. It had been a while since they had touched, and James gave a little moan of relief at the sensation. Teddy closed his eyes and concentrated on holding James close, breathing deeply and steadily. Breathing in James's scent, and trying to transmit silent reassurance.

“It's okay, it's okay,” he whispered.

He could literally feel James relaxing in his grasp; feel the tension bleeding away. James rested his head on Teddy's shoulder, and pressed a kiss to his jaw.

“Thank you,” he said at last. “I needed this.”

“You can always be where I am, James,” Teddy said. “You should know that.”

He was itching to put his teeth to the fading mark on James's neck and make it bloom into bright colour again. He reminded himself that this was his _classroom_ , for goodness's sake; this was one of his students he was holding so intimately. He reminded himself as well, with an awful, hungry desire, that James would be in his rooms tonight. Alone with him. Teddy felt himself growing hard, and moved away from James hastily, giving him a smile to show that he wasn't pushing the younger man away.

“I'll get the House Elves to move your things,” he promised. “Now, get away to your next lesson.” He gave James a quick kiss. “Be good.”

There was a light back in James's eyes, and his boyfriend was back to his usual self. Teddy received a confident smile. “Oh, I'm _always_ good,” James assured him, and sauntered out of the door with a wink.

~

“So what's this about not sleeping?” Teddy asked that evening, watching James put his things away in what was now, he supposed, 'their' room.

“You know.” James gave a little shrug. He had a whole host of different shrugs. They usually meant 'There's something I'm not telling you.' Teddy wondered what it was that James wasn't telling him this time. “It happens.” He forced a smile. “Three nights sharing with you, and apparently I can't do without it.”

But that wasn't the truth; at least, not the main thrust of it. Teddy could feel that it wasn't, even if that shrug hadn't been a dead giveaway.

“Is it that it smells funny?” Teddy remembered when he'd gone through the change, it had been freaky the way everywhere just _smelt_. He'd got used to it now, but it could be overwhelming at first. “Or...” He remembered something Al had told him, about the issues James was having with some of the other students. “The people?”

James jumped, just a little, and tried to make it look like a stretch. “No. No,” he said quickly. “I mean, I just – I spelled the curtains locked. It isn't that, not really. Not that I think they would've...”

Teddy worked through that statement in his head for a second. _Spelled the curtains locked_. That wouldn't stop people from making derogatory comments. That would only be important if you wanted to stop them from... He took a pace towards James.

“What the hell? James, no one's touched you, have they?” he said sharply. But they shouldn't have done. Shouldn't have wanted to. That was only a problem during heat, not out of it.

“No,” James said quickly. “Not after they knew I was bonded. I'm just a bit paranoid, I guess.”

“Not after they knew you were bonded,” Teddy repeated slowly. “Before?”

James shook his head. “The glamour wore off. I think I rubbed it too much. They were too busy freaking out over that, and then, of course, they knew I was yours, and that stopped them.”

“Jamie...” Teddy's head was spinning, and he sat down heavily on the side of the bed. He was pretty sure that this shouldn't be happening. Even had James not been bonded, he shouldn't have had Alphas still threatening him with rape – not out of heat. Teddy had a sudden realisation that if he had done as he'd originally been asked, and kept from bonding with James, his boyfriend would now be... what? Gryffindor's whore? There hadn't been an Omega around Teddy when he'd presented, but surely the Hogwarts teachers didn't usually put Omegas into so much danger? Teddy had been asked to fuck James through his heat to keep him safe from too much pain and harm; the idea was surely not that having done that, as an unbonded Omega James would then become the fuck-toy of all Alphas in the school. “What the bloody hell is going on in Gryffindor Tower?”

James looked away. Teddy could scent the shame and mortification coming off him. He'd known Omegas didn't necessarily have it easy, but this was ridiculous.

“Like I said,” James said eventually, “they know I'm bonded to you. I'm catching flak for that, but we always knew that would be the case. And it keeps them from being too...” He waved a hand vaguely.

“Too what?” Teddy demanded angrily.

James flinched. “I'm an Omega. I have to learn to live with it,” he muttered. “I'm coping. I just... could do with a bit more sleep, that's all.”

Teddy took some deep breaths. He knew his anger was affecting James, and it was unfair – it certainly wasn't _James_ he was angry at.

“Okay. It's okay. Come here.” He patted the bed at his side, but James came and curled up at his feet instead, curving his arms round Teddy's legs and clinging to them. Teddy wanted to pull him up, but if that was where James felt safest right now, he deserved that much. It didn't sound as if he'd had a lot of feeling safe, lately. “I just want to know what's going on,” he said gently. “I don't think this should be happening, James.”

“It's what I am.” James sounded mentally tired, as well as physically.

“Tell me what happened,” Teddy said.

“I don't -”

“Tell me.” Teddy's voice was kind but firm, uncompromisingly so. He knew James wouldn't be able to refuse him when he spoke like that.

James sighed and began to speak.

Teddy found himself shaking with anger as his boyfriend went through what had happened. He could feel the shame coming off James in waves that there had been nothing he had been able to do to stop the two Alphas attacking him – as if, despite being outnumbered and wandless, he should still have prevented any of it from happening. Teddy wanted, quite literally, to kill the boys who had done this to his James. To stride out of his rooms and find them and make them pay for even considering hurting James.

He also had the urge to pull James up onto the bed and claim him himself. Possessiveness zinged through his blood like fire. He would bite James so hard that no one would ever be able to think that James wasn't his; make love to him until James whined and pleaded for more, making those beautiful whimpering noises which went straight to Teddy's heart. He'd knot him, and they would lie pressed together on the bed, James's swiftly beating heart thumping against Teddy's chest as Teddy took James, body, mind and soul. Showed him where he truly belonged.

Teddy felt suddenly revolted by himself. Even to be thinking this sort of thing, when James had already gone through so much... it was sick. He ought to be looking after James, protecting him, reassuring him – not thinking of fucking him. Not imagining doing precisely what the young men he felt so furious towards had tried. He had promised to protect James, to make sure no one would hurt him, and he had failed. He should be dealing with the consequences of that – working out how to make sure no one would ever touch James again – not fantasising about making James beg for him. Unable to stand being this close to James, thinking of him in this way, he stood up abruptly and crossed the room, turning to look at James.

“I'm sorry,” he said abruptly. “I should have been there to protect you, and I wasn't.”

James looked shaken by Teddy's sudden movement. His fingers tightened on the bed-sheet where Teddy had been sitting up until a few seconds ago.

“It's not... it shouldn't be up to you,” he said. “I'm an adult. I should -”

“No. I promised to look after you. To stop anyone hurting you, and I let you down.”

Teddy could see the fading bite mark on James's neck. He looked away quickly, hating the wave of desire that spread through him at the sight of it. He heard his boyfriend rise to his feet, and forced himself to look back across at him.

“I'm sorry,” James whispered, looking stricken.

“You've done nothing wrong.” Teddy knew his voice was curt, but he was struggling to control his feelings.

“I disgust you.” James was pale, but standing upright. “It's all right. You don't have to say it. I can feel it. That I'm weak enough that other people will just...” He broke off.

“No,” Teddy said urgently. “That's not true. James, I promise -”

“Teddy,” James said wearily; and though he was upright, Teddy could see that his shoulders were slumping a little, “I can feel it. Through the bond, I guess. When you feel something strongly enough, I can always feel it.”

“You, too?” Teddy hadn't known that. He knew it happened the other way; somehow, he hadn't realised that it was a two-way thing – that James could 'feel' him, just as he could 'feel' James. That was... well, it made him feel rather vulnerable, actually, but perhaps it was only fair that he should have a vulnerability to James as well as vice versa. It was probably an object lesson. Still, it didn't mean that James couldn't get it wrong. 

“Jamie, the disgust isn't for you. It's for me,” he confessed. He met James's gaze steadily. “I walked away from you because I disgust myself. Even after what you've just told me, I'm still thinking about pushing you onto the bed. Biting you. Fucking you. Two boys tried to rape you, and I'm furious, but how am I any better? My... my instinct, hearing what you were saying, was to claim you again myself – make you mine. Take you. You deserve better than that, James. You deserve to be treated as a person, not someone who can be 'claimed' – by me or anyone else.”

James was blinking, his breathing rapid. “But that's different.”

“How?” Teddy walked over to the door and leaned his head against it. Resisted bashing his head hard against it only by a whisker. “How is it different, James? Because I already did it? I bit you during heat and made you bond to me?”

“Rumour has it I was quite insistent,” James said quietly. “I don't think anyone thinks you forced me, and there are people who would think it, if there were any reason to, believe me. As to how it's different, Teddy...”

He walked over to Teddy, sliding his robes from his shoulders as he did so and following it up with the rest of his clothes. Naked, he stood by Teddy's side, but he didn't touch him. Instead, he put his hands behind his back, lifting his head and baring his neck to Teddy. Offering it – offering himself – in a gesture of utter submission, his eyes pleading as they met Teddy's own.

“Please,” James whispered. “I'll beg on my knees if I have to, Teddy, but don't make me. _This_ is how it's different – I want you to. I want you to bite me, to knot me. To make me yours. I want it. I've always wanted it. I love you.”

And Teddy could smell James's want, could feel the need pushing at his mind; James's pleas as strong in their silence as they were in his words.

“You're sure, Jamie?”

“Really bloody sure,” said James, a faint smile on his face.

It was such a Jamesian answer – so unromantic, so un-Omega-like – that Teddy couldn't help smiling back at him. Then he gave in to the urge which had been consuming him, and bit down heavily into James's neck. It was a hard enough bite that James cried out; but Teddy could feel the way James's body responded to the claiming, nonetheless. James pressed in against Teddy, his cock filling immediately, and his mouth full of little whimpers and pleas as he rubbed up against his Alpha. Teddy took him to bed and made love to him until neither of them could think about anything but the other – about the desperate need consuming them both, binding them together as soul-mates, only to be parted in death. Teddy gasped and let go, allowing himself to give James everything he had and demand the same in return, until they lay panting together on Teddy’s bed.

For a few minutes afterwards they lay in contented silence, James curled up in Teddy’s arms. Teddy could sense that James was mulling something over, however, and after a while, he spoke.

“What is it, James?”

“I was just thinking… Maybe I should just ask them to put me back on the suppressants, like I'm still a kid,” James said heavily. “I know everyone would still know what I am, but if... I don't know, if there's something about my smell, specifically, which is setting the Alphas off...”

Teddy sighed. “Oh, Jamie, if only it were that easy.”

“What,” James asked, “you reckon the fact they know would be enough? Even if they couldn't sense it? Even if I didn't have the instinct to respond to it?”

“You can't go back,” Teddy said. “Once your natural hormones have taken over, the suppressant doesn't work any more.”

“It might.”

Teddy put a finger to James's mouth, closing his eyes wearily for a second. “Do you know about my experience?” he asked slowly.

James gave him a rolled-eye look. “Course. Everyone does. Fastest showing Alpha in Hogwarts,” he snapped.

Teddy gave a rueful grin. “Oh, that's how they're phrasing it, is it?” he asked. He ran his fingers through James's hair in a gentle gesture. “You've got to love the Hogwarts grapevine,” he said. “Well. I suppose that has an element of truth to it.” He caught James's look, and raised his eyebrows. “The fact is, I presented at sixteen,” he said bluntly. “My hormones overpowered the suppressants. I couldn't work out what the hell was going on with my nose, but when I started getting a knot... well...”

“Oh.”

It wasn't easy to silence James, but apparently Teddy had done it.

“It's more obvious, I suppose, if you're an Alpha,” Teddy allowed. “Once you've got a knot, any amount of suppressants aren't going to make it go away. But the fact is, Jamie, it's true for everyone. As soon as you've presented, that's it. There's no going back, no matter how much you might want to.”

“I see.” James sounded dejected. Teddy hated being the one who had brought that tone into his boyfriend's voice.

“It didn't make me very popular,” he said quietly. “I was at the end of Fifth Year. It wasn't exactly subtle. And with an April birthday, I wasn't even supposed to show for nearly another year. The other students found reasons, of course – it was pretty widely decided that it was because my Dad had been a werewolf. Merlin knows what link they found there, but...”

“Oh, I don't know,” James said, perking up a little, to Teddy's relief. “I can see the logic.”

Teddy grinned. “Yeah. Didn't like to tell 'em that Dad was a Beta.” He watched James's jaw drop open, and his grin widened. “Oh yes. Mum was the Alpha,” he said, his tone casual. He kissed James's forehead. “Don't judge by appearances, James Sirius,” he said teasingly. “You should know that.”

~

All the same, Teddy was bothered by James's situation. Once again, he found himself in Professor McGonagall's office – this time determined not to do anything in the least unprofessional. He needed to tell her about the – well, about the attempted rape; but he wanted to do more than that. The way James was being treated... it _really_ seemed concerning.

Minerva offered him a biscuit. “How can I help, Teddy?”

She looked suspiciously as if she knew what he was here about. Minerva always did seem to know everything, Teddy thought ruefully. He remembered that from his own school days.

“James,” he said, helping himself to a chocolate digestive.

“Indeed. I understand that being bonded as teacher and pupil is not the easiest of experiences,” Professor McGonagall said. “I have also heard from the House Elves that James has had his things moved into your rooms.”

“Yes,” Teddy said, suddenly grim. “He has. And they're staying there.” He had a sudden memory of the last time he'd been talking about James with Minerva. Ye gods, he really didn't want to repeat that. “I mean, I hope that's all right, Minerva.”

“An Alpha-Omega bond overrides all other regulations in law, let alone in Hogwarts,” Minerva said dryly. “I can hardly object.”

“I'm worried about him,” Teddy said. He took a bite of biscuit and suddenly realised why McGonagall handed them out. It was extremely difficult to sound angry or threatening around a mouthful of delicious chocolatiness.

“Omegas don't have an easy time of it in our world,” she said slowly. “You know that.”

But there was something in Minerva's voice which suggested to Teddy that she thought there might be more to it. Teddy swallowed his mouthful, and continued.

“Minerva, he was nearly raped by two of his dorm mates,” he said bluntly. “Out of heat. That can't be normal.”

“What?” The Headmistress's tone was sharp.

“He's sleeping with me from now on,” Teddy said.

“Teddy, I hate to ask, but you aren't blowing things out of proportion?” Minerva asked.

Teddy could hear from her tone of voice that she truly did dislike asking the question, which was the only thing which allowed him to answer in a calm fashion.

“No,” he said quietly. “I wish I were. But James described what happened. You may know that I glamoured his claim mark when we first left. One of the Gryffindor Alphas had a wand pointed at him; the other had one hand on his wrist and the other on his chest when the glamour wore off.” He gave a tight smile. “Apparently, I am considered enough of a threat that they chose at that point to leave him alone, helped by the fact that a friend of his entered the dormitory at that point. James has been spelling his curtains to lock since then, but that's not acceptable.”

“It certainly is not.” Professor McGonagall's Scottish accent was more evident when she was in the grip of strong emotion. It was evident now. “Rest assured, Teddy, I will be having words. I am quite tempted to expel the pair of them – there is no need for you to give me names: I know the Alphas in James's year and House quite well enough.”

“I am quite tempted to kill them,” Teddy said, trying not to sound as serious as he felt.

Minerva looked at him. “I know. You will leave this to me, Teddy Lupin. I forbid you to take any action on this matter. I realise that it is your Omega in question -”

“James,” Teddy corrected her.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Not 'my Omega'. James.” Teddy gave her a straight look. “This is the problem, Minerva. People seeing him as an Omega, not as a person. We are discussing James Potter. Not 'an Omega'. Definitely not 'my' Omega. And not even 'Harry's son'. James is his own person. Yes, he also happens to be an Omega. But that does not define him.”

He stopped. There was a sudden silence in the room. Teddy wondered what it was about James which led him to say things which were perhaps better left unsaid. On the other hand, if not Teddy, then who?

“I see,” Professor McGonagall said slowly. “You are right, of course. It is quite unfair to look at what James is rather than who he is. On the other hand, it is _what_ he is which is affecting his life at the moment, and -”

“And that's unfair too,” Teddy put in.

“Yes, but it is fact,” Minerva said. “Have another biscuit.” She pushed the tin towards him, but Teddy waved it away. “Very well. Now, let me speak, please – without interruptions.” Teddy had the grace to look embarrassed. “I have had mention from certain of the staff – the other Alphas,” she acknowledged, taking a shortbread biscuit herself and snapping it into two halves, “that they are struggling to deal with their reaction to James. Even those who have taught Omegas in the past. I have to be honest with you, Teddy. James is not – well, he is not your average Omega.”

Teddy resisted the urge to inform Minerva firmly that James wasn't your average _anything_. James was special. Unique. And if Minerva was foolish enough not to be able to see that...

He settled for making a sort of acquiescent noise in his throat. He suspected, from the look his Headmistress gave him, that she knew what he was thinking. She always had: it was why she had always been his favourite teacher when he'd been at school - and then something closer, as she had mentored him through his post-Hogwarts training.

“There is,” Professor McGonagall continued slowly, “a branch of lore which has an unusual 'take' on Omega dynamics.”

Teddy leaned forward. There was enough reservation in Minerva's tone to make him more intrigued than he even might have been in other circumstances.

“Go on.”

“It says – and I must say firmly,” McGonagall added quickly, “that this is by no means anything like an accepted fact – that Omegas have that role because... well... because...” She paused, and took a deep breath of air, as if she needed to fortify herself somehow. “Because they have stronger magic than those of other persuasions,” she said, finally.

"I... what?” Teddy stared at her, wondering whether she had really said what he just thought she had. Because common belief was that Omegas were... well, a tad pathetic. Not good enough to be 'real' witches or wizards; they were those who were a little bit inadequate. Who needed someone else to take charge of them, look after them. Come to think of it, who were _nothing like James Potter_.

“Imagine if those people with the strongest magic,” Minerva said, “were also Alphas. Also could control the majority of those around them, at least to a degree. Well,” she acknowledged, “you don't need to imagine it. Obviously, you have grown up with the stories of Lord Voldemort. But – suppose there were people stronger still. People whose magic could do almost unheard of things. Perhaps there would need to be some sort of balance in place. Something to stop them becoming tyrants.”

“And you're saying,” Teddy said slowly, “that those people... they become Omegas? Become submissive to those around them, in order that they don't destroy the world with their power?”

“I am saying no such thing,” Professor McGonagall said briskly. “All I am doing is telling you one of the lesser known rumours about Omegas. It would,” she said dryly, “of course be a 'lesser known' rumour. It is hardly one that Alphas in general would appreciate being bandied around. I confess to a certain sense of indignation rising inside myself even as I relay the story to you. However, I have known James Potter since he entered the school, and I can't help but acknowledge that the idea that his magic is weak enough that it requires another to protect him seems singularly unlikely. This is, perhaps, one of the problems with preventing our students to develop at their natural rate: James has been able to show his talents unfettered to the age of seventeen. It is difficult, therefore, to suppose that he is struggling to cope in the Wizarding World without the assistance of an Alpha to guide him.”

“Yes,” Teddy said. “Yes, it is.”

His head was buzzing. He had never heard... well, he had never heard _anything_ like the story that Minerva had just told. On the other hand, having listened to it – it sounded considerably more like James than anything else he'd ever heard tell about Omegas.

“That still doesn't explain why James is having a harder time of it than previous Omegas, though,” he pointed out.

McGonagall raised her eyebrows. “Does it not, Teddy Lupin?” she asked. “I would have thought that it explained it in fairly specific detail. Especially considering who his father is.”

James's father. Harry Potter. The man who had single-handedly saved the Wizarding World at James's age. And who, despite that level of power, had not been an Omega.

Oh.

Minerva was suggesting that James was a more powerful wizard even than his father. More powerful than Harry. And bound to Teddy. Fuck.

“It is, of course, up to you how much of this you tell James,” Minerva said calmly, steepling her fingers together and resting her chin upon them. “And, indeed, how much you believe of it yourself.”

Believe it? Teddy made a rueful face. How could he do anything but believe it, when it made so much sense? Much more so than that his wonderful boyfriend was somehow _lacking_ in some way.

“Thank you,” he said gratefully. “Thank you, Minerva. You have helped.” He stood up, and walked to the door. Something else occurred to him. “And all he gets is me,” he muttered grimly, under his breath.

“Yes,” said Professor McGonagall, her voice clear and calm as always. “He got the Alpha he deserves. Go and be with him, Professor Lupin.”

Teddy found himself blushing; and left.

*

Finnegan tried for a fortnight to fill the Quidditch team, and had to admit defeat. He walked up to James and Al when they were together, clearly feeling it was easier to face both at once than to acknowledge his predicament separately to the pair of them.

“Okay, you're in. If you'll still play,” he said gruffly.

James knew it must be awkward for his new Captain to admit it, but if he was honest, he had trouble feeling sorry for him. Finnegan knew that James was the best Beater in the House – hell, in the school. He'd ditched him solely because he was an Omega; and if he hadn't counted on losing Al, Lily and Rose as well, that was his problem. Okay, he'd been goaded into it by McLaggen, but that was hardly James's fault.

Beside him, Al had a small smile on his face. “Difficulty finding replacements, Finnegan?” he asked softly.

James side-eyed his brother. There was something in the way Al said the words which made James suspect he knew more about Finnegan's problems than he should.

Dean, wisely, ignored the question. “You're the best Seeker and one of the best Beaters Gryffindor has,” he said.

“ _The_ best Beater,” Al corrected.

“And we want the Cup,” Finnegan continued. “I've spoken to Granger-Weasley. She's in, if you two are.”

“Well...” started Al.

James closed fingers round Albus's slim wrist. Finnegan had suffered enough. What was more, he'd had the courage to acknowledge that he needed them.

“We're in,” James said.

Al gave a long-suffering sigh, but acquiesced. “We're in,” he agreed. “When's practice?”

James turned to Al the moment Finnegan had left, however. “What do you know that I don't?” he asked. He smiled. “Not that I'm complaining. Just wondering.”

There was a wicked look in Al's eyes. “Sure you want to know, Jamie?” he asked mischievously. “You were aiming at Head Boy, not that long ago.”

“Mm. All the more reason for wanting to know what you're capable of,” James retorted. They both knew he hadn't a chance now, but he was damned if he'd let that change the way he acted. Bad enough that it was changing the way everyone else acted towards him. “You knew he wouldn't fill the team, didn't you?”

“Oh,” Al said lazily, “not 'knew'. I just... limited his options, is all.”

Albus Severus Potter. So easy to underestimate, James thought. Not that James was inclined to do so in general – but then, he'd grown up with Al. Al was quiet, unobtrusive in many ways. Everything James wasn't, in fact. People who were used to James's swagger and confidence saw Al as secondary. 'Potter Junior', James had heard him called. For the first time, he wondered how much that had upset his brother. At the time, James had just gone with it. Now, after a few weeks of finding himself described in terms of someone else (though there were plenty of other mortifying resonances to being popularly referred to as 'Lupin's bitch', he thought bitterly)... well, possibly it hadn't been particularly enjoyable for Albus all these years.

“Limited his options,” James repeated, a question in his voice.

A smile crept across Al's face.

James sighed. “I don't want to know, do I? Except, quite clearly, I'm gagging to know. Come on, out with it.”

“Thing is,” Al explained, leaning back into the sofa with casual ease, “it's Finnegan's last year. And McLaggen's.”

“Yeah.” So far, so much stating the obvious.

“It's not mine,” Al said gently. His eyes met James's. “Talk to the lower years about whether they want to be in the Quidditch team, and most of them do. Talk to them about whether they think it's worth being in for one game, or potentially the rest of their Hogwarts career. Strange how differently they see things.”

James's jaw dropped open. “Bloody hell, Al. You -”

“Should've been a Slytherin, I know,” Albus agreed nonchalantly. “You've said before. Plus, of course,” he added unexpectedly, “there's the fact that the lower years _like_ you. You've always been nice to them. Reaping what you sow, Jamie. Reaping what you sow.”

James found himself blushing at this last comment. He didn't think he'd been particularly decent to the kids, but damn it all, Al and Lily had been younger Gryffindors, and although James knew he wasn't the best older brother – he ripped the piss out of both of his siblings given half a chance, though they (Albus in particular) responded equally in kind – he wanted them happy. Other people's little siblings deserved the same, so he'd always made a bit of an effort if one of the younger ones seemed to want something. He hadn't expected it to make an impression, though; and he certainly hadn't realised Al knew about it.

“I think we'll keep you in Gryffindor, thanks,” he said abruptly, the nearest he could come to thanking Al. “Though I'm not sure you should be proud being here, given the company you keep,” he added, bitterness insisting on coming to mind. His House pride had taken a battering of late, for obvious reasons.

Al winked at him. “We'll bring the little 'uns up better,” he said cheerfully, “just you wait and see. So. Jamie. Back on the Quidditch team. We'll show them all yet.”

They would, James thought. But he wasn't at all sure that Al hadn't already shown him most of all. His little brother was definitely growing up.

~

James didn't play well in the final Quidditch game – which coincided, incidentally, with Al's sixteenth birthday. No. He played superbly. And he knew it. He also knew that everyone else must know it. Fuck, did it feel good. He'd had to deal, when it was announced that he was playing, with all the crap which went with it. McLaggen had clearly not been happy about James's reinstatement, but had known better than to complain: there was a look in Dean Finnegan's eye which suggested that, only Alpha in the team or not, McLaggen could be out if he said too much. However, even if McLaggen had kept his mouth shut, it was not to be expected that the other Houses would do likewise. As soon as it was known that an Omega was going to be flying for Gryffindor, the insults started. James was the first Omega in history to be picked for a House team: perhaps he should have felt flattered, but instead he found himself reflecting on all the people who must have been rejected just for what they were, exactly as he would have been were it not for his brother's dubious diplomatic skills.

There was a party in the Tower afterwards, to celebrate. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup, and the entire Tower was delighted. In the main. James noticed, wryly, that his own part in proceedings was scuffled over awkwardly – or as much as it could be with Albus and Rose both determinedly pointing it out on any and every occasion. Which was nice, but it didn't help to calm the tensions. Still, James could see that Al was enjoying himself, and it was his birthday, after all. Al had earned the best birthday anyone could have, he thought privately to himself – though he’d have died rather than say it out loud. 

Instead, he’d said, “Suppose you reckon the win was all down to everyone wanting to celebrate your big day, yeah?”

“Yes, of course, big brother,” Albus had retorted. “Obviously, the opponents threw the match merely to make my day. Nothing to do with my marvellous Seeking skills – or the rather excellent Beater,” he’d added loudly and pointedly, making sure that half the House at least could hear him say it.

On the whole, James had been glad to make his excuses around midnight and slip off to Teddy’s rooms to go to bed, even if they hadn’t had sex in a while. He was missing it – missing Teddy’s claiming bite, the sensation of being filled beyond all logical possibility by Teddy’s knot. But he found himself utterly unable to say any such thing. How could he beg Teddy for sex? It was humiliating enough being an Omega, to have insisted that he needed to sleep with Teddy thanks to his inability to defend himself from his own dorm mates. The last thing he was going to do was start pestering his boyfriend for sex. And asking to be _bitten_ , for fuck’s sake, would be even more humiliating. How could you even bring the subject up? “Oh, by the way, Teddy, I’d like you to sink your teeth into me, if you don’t mind too much.” Hardly! He’d sound like a bloody freak.

He was a bloody freak, James reminded himself gloomily, not for the first time. An Omega freak, trying to pretend he was normal. Plastering a determined smile to his face, and reminding himself that they _had_ won the Quidditch and that he _had_ (even if he’d not said anything about it himself) played out of his bloody skin, he went to meet his Alpha.

*

It took a while to work things out. There were certain factors at play that Teddy hadn't anticipated, things that reminded him just how powerful this bond was. For a start, it turned out that even with James out of heat, he still needed to be bitten and knotted regularly. After a couple of weeks without either, he started getting a little antsy. They didn't realise what it was the first time. James just said he felt uncomfortable, and didn't give any more details. Teddy could feel the discomfort, but it didn't seem to be specific to anything. They went on for another week like this. Teddy was trying hard _not_ to fuck James too often: it felt like taking advantage, especially pressing his knot inside his young boyfriend when James wasn't producing his own slick. Lube was all very well – but Teddy knew his knot was a lot to take. He'd seen James wincing afterwards, and although he knew James would never refuse him – well, to be honest, that made it worse. How could it be true consent if James would, could, never refuse? And yes, he regularly had a strong urge to sink his teeth into the mark on James's neck, especially as it faded (it was wrong, wrong, to see it fade), but he was better than that. He wanted a relationship with James. He didn't want to own him. He didn't want to force him into anything. Just because James was an Omega didn't mean he didn't deserve the respect any other person would get from their boyfriend.

But by the end of the third week without Teddy's claiming, James was a mess. He spent less and less time in Gryffindor Tower, instead haunting Teddy's chambers. He even tried to do his homework kneeling at Teddy's feet as Teddy marked papers, until Teddy ordered him to work at a table. Then he obeyed with such immediacy that it was almost frightening; but the work was sloppily done, and James seemed to spend more time just staring across at Teddy. To say that Teddy had been unimpressed with James's Transfiguration homework (two foot of parchment on the difference between transfiguring animals with feathers and those with fur) was an understatement. Fortunately, he left his words of fury until they were alone, since James ended up in tears on the floor, begging Teddy to forgive him. It had taken Teddy two hours to calm him down, holding him close and whispering words of reassurance; and Teddy was aware that James still barely slept that night. Every time Teddy woke in the night, he was aware of James lying looking at him with anxious, confused eyes, the tips of his fingers just brushing against Teddy's skin, as if he craved the contact but dared take it no further than that.

“Stay here today,” Teddy said to James the next morning. “You're not well enough to be in school. I'll explain.”

“Yes, Teddy.” James got out of bed and began to collect Teddy's things together for him, as was his habit. Crouching on the floor to pick up the last of the folders of work and slide it into Teddy's briefcase, he passed it up to his boyfriend. “What should I do?”

Teddy smiled at him, and bent down to give him a kiss. “Nothing. Just stay put.”

“Okay.”

It was a busy day, and Teddy couldn't get back to the rooms to check on James during lunchtime as he'd intended to. Professor Flitwick caught him, to talk about something that one of the Fifth Years claimed Teddy had said. By the time Teddy and Flitwick had worked out the misunderstanding (no, Teddy had definitely not said that Charms were a second-rate sort of Transfiguration), the time had passed and Teddy needed to go and teach Second Year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors (including James's sister Lily) how to transfigure small objects. It was 4pm, eight hours since he'd left James, when he managed to get back to his chambers.

James was still there. Teddy had wondered whether his boyfriend would get bored and wander off – James was sociable by nature, and an entire day stuck in two rooms when the castle was at his mercy was never going to be James's idea of a good time. And, after all, it wasn't that James was _ill_ ill; he was just off-colour. But James was still there.

Not only was he still there, he was still on the floor. Precisely where he had been when Teddy had left. He looked uncomfortable – no, more than uncomfortable. He looked as if he was in a great deal of pain.

“James!” Teddy flung his case down on a chair and went over to his boyfriend. “Are you okay? Did you get stuck?” Had Teddy accidentally cast some sort of sticking charm? He knew he was clumsy (an inheritance from his mother, he'd been told), but he didn't usually cast spells without realising. Still, James looked suspiciously like he was in the very same position he'd been when Teddy left that morning, all those hours ago. And that couldn't be so – or if it could, there must be some reason for it. Teddy could think of no other.

“May I – move? Sir?” James's voice was quavery. He kept his head bent.

“Jamie, what the...” Teddy took a deep breath, and was overwhelmed by James's scent. It was... intoxicating. Frightening. It practically asked for abuse. It said, stronger than any words ever could, _I'm yours. Do what you want with me. Anything you want. Absolutely anything. You own me. I'm yours._ “Of course you may move, Jamie,” he said quietly.

James tried to move his limbs, but they were stiff from the hours he must have spent in that one posture. Why had he done it? Teddy's last words had been... Oh. _Stay put._ Oh, fuck. Had James really got to the point where a simple comment like that – something that at any other time, even in this new bond of theirs, James would understand to mean “don't feel obliged to get anything useful done” - would be taken with complete literalness? Well, stupid question. Clearly, he had. He had just spent eight hours in one position. He must be in agony.

“Here, let me help,” Teddy said, sliding his arms around James and listening to his boyfriend whimper as he did so. Pain? Teddy's nose told him not. It told him that it was his closeness which was bringing that noise from James.

“Please, Teddy. Oh god, please.”

He hadn't heard James sound that desperate since the heat. Hadn't expected to hear him sound like that again until the next heat. This wasn't normal, was it? Yes, Omegas _could_ be treated like possessions – all right, like slaves – but they shouldn't want to be.

“What do you need?”

“To submit,” James whispered, and there was enough of a note of mortification in his voice that Teddy knew that his James – the person, not the Omega – was still there. “Please. I'm so _sorry_. I can't help it.”

“Shh,” Teddy said.

He picked James up – not easy: James was solid muscle – and carried him to the sofa, sitting with James across his lap. Then he tilted James's head back. He could feel the willingness in James's body; his desire to be moved and arranged at Teddy's will. And Teddy gave in to the desire that had been there for so long. His mouth came down onto James's neck, and his teeth bit in, and James cried out. Not a cry of pain, but a cry of such plaintive relief and joy that the noise thrummed through Teddy's veins. James had needed this. When Teddy had been fighting back the urge to bite, he'd been hurting James unintentionally. James needed to be bitten, to be marked. Teddy kept his teeth firmly attached to James as his hands stroked over James's body. James was hard for him – of course. But also, Teddy could feel the tension seeping out of his boyfriend.

“Oh,” James said softly; and that was enough. Teddy's last word had been “shh” - if James was speaking at all, it demonstrated that part of his sense of self was returning to him.

Funny, Teddy mused – one would think it would be the other way round, that the claiming bite would push an Omega further under, not bring him back. Except that James was then being who he was meant to be, not having part of himself denied. The more that the submissive part – for, improbable though it was, and much as James must wish it wasn't, there was a large submissive part to James's nature – the more that part was rejected, the more desperate it became for fulfilment. Teddy's blood ran cold. Think what an Alpha could do to his Omega by refusing this. The stereotype of the mindlessly obedient Omega did not come from nowhere. It could be easily done. And although there was a true bond, a soul-bond, between Teddy and James... any Alpha might have bitten James and become _this_ to him. This, but without the love. They could have controlled James totally, just by withdrawing what James needed. As long as they bit him during heat, he would stay theirs; but without further contact, with the withdrawal of physical bonding on a regular basis, he would become...

But it was not the time to be thinking about this. Teddy had more important things to think about just now – much more pleasant ones.

“What do you need?” Teddy asked again.

“I need... oh god, I need you to take me. To hold me down, mark me, fuck me, claim me. Make me yours.” Teddy bit back the smallest growl. He stood up, dragging James up too. “W-what are you doing?”

“Exactly what you asked for,” Teddy said, his voice low and dangerous. “Bedroom. Now.” He was too impatient for careful undressing, just taking their clothes off with a flick of his wand. “Lie down on the bed,” he ordered James, “your hands above your head, grasping the headboard.”

Laid out for Teddy's pleasure, for Teddy to do what he would with James. James obeyed without hesitation, grasping the wooden headboard hard enough that Teddy could see the tendons on his arms flex. Fuck, but James was beautiful. Teddy let his eyes roam over his Omega, down the powerful, Quidditch-toned chest, following the dark pleasure trail of hair from James's navel to his hard, cock, quivering against his belly, its tip already glistening with precome. His thighs were strong and muscular. Teddy knelt beside him and ran possessive, claiming hands all over James, feeling the way James shivered with desire and need as he did so, a little whine coming from James's throat. Then he leant down and ran his tongue across one of the brown nubs which were James's nipples. James cried out, his knees bending and his hips thrusting forward in an instinct of their own.

“Uh-uh,” Teddy scolded, pushing a bent thigh back to the bed. “Lie still.”

“I...” 'can't' appeared to waver on the end of James's tongue, but as Teddy looked at him, he bit it back, moving himself as Teddy commanded. “Yes, Teddy,” he said, his brown eyes clouded with submission and lust, his breathing fast and unsteady.

“Good boy,” Teddy murmured.

He licked again across the same nipple, then suckled on it. James made noise after noise of pleasure and desperation, his hands clenching ever tighter as he fought to stay still, to do as Teddy had ordered. Teddy moved a hand down to stroke the inside of James's thigh, and the noise emanating from James became louder.

“Mine,” Teddy said, taking James's mouth in a hungry kiss.

James responded as if Teddy were the very air that he breathed. When Teddy broke the kiss, James said,

“Yours, Teddy – please.”

Teddy lay his body on top of James's, rutting against him. Feeling the way every single muscle in James responded to him; smelling James's scent, the way he smelt of sex, and need, and submission all at once. It was a heady combination.

“I'm – going to -” James bit out, his body rigid in his attempt not to come without permission.

“Come, then, baby,” Teddy urged him. “Come for me.”

James's head went back, exposing his neck with the suddenly-clear-again bite mark. His hips jerked against Teddy, and he came, hard, spilling over his belly and Teddy's, his cock twitching and spurting for an age as Teddy gave into an irresistible impulse and put his mouth to that mark on James's neck, tracing it with his tongue as his bonded mate orgasmed beneath him. James panted through the aftermath, and Teddy noted the way his eyes immediately went to Teddy, as if for reassurance that his behaviour had been acceptable, that Teddy was pleased.

“Good boy,” Teddy said again, his tone reassuring.

James's mouth was open a little. His lips were pink. “I still need...” He blushed, even now, lying orgasmic underneath his lover. “Need you to knot me.”

“Oh, I will,” Teddy said, dark and promising.

He couldn't help himself, not now. Not when James had begged for him, begged for this. It was like James's heat all over again, except better. James's need was there, but Teddy knew his boyfriend's mind was clear in a way it had not been during his heat. James would remember every second of this, and Teddy intended to give him something to remember. He slid off James, lying on one side of him and running one hand over James's chest whilst he pressed kisses interspersed with bites to James's jaw and neck. James, languid after coming, lay there and let Teddy do what he wanted. His hands still held the bars of the headboard, but loosely; his arms looked relaxed, and there was a half-smile that would not quite leave his lips. Teddy reached his other hand down to touch himself, and he saw James watching; saw the first signs of James's own cock filling again.

“Please,” James said.

“When you're ready for me,” Teddy said, his voice predatory. “I'm going to make you come again, Jamie, with me inside you. You want that, don't you?”

“Teddy...” The way James said his name was answer enough, but Teddy wanted more.

“Tell me.”

“Yes. God. I want you inside me. I want you to fuck me and knot me and make me come for you,” James said.

Teddy watched the way his fingers tightened on the headboard, his cock swelling ever further. In return, he saw James still following the movement of Teddy's hand on his prick, James's eyes longing and his lips parted. Teddy gave in to temptation and knelt above James, feeding his cock into James's open mouth, just a little way. James lengthened his neck to take more in, everything about him conveying his willingness, eagerness, to do this for Teddy.

“Make me wet, Jamie,” Teddy said. “Wet and slick to slip inside you when I've made you all loose and ready for me.”

James, uncertain but willing, licked and sucked around Teddy's cock, his mouth making the most obscene noises as he did so. He was willingly subservient, following Teddy's every movement, and what he lacked in skill he made up for in clear enthusiasm for the task. Teddy could have stayed there for longer, sliding in and out of James's warm, wet lips, but James's jaw must be aching, and Teddy knew his boyfriend needed to be filled – needed it. He pulled out, moving down and kissing James's swollen lips.

“So good, James,” he whispered.

“Need you.” James's voice was a whimper.

“I know.”

Teddy murmured the lubrication spell, and pushed two slick fingers inside his boyfriend, who parted his legs to give Teddy more access. Teddy curved his fingers inside James, searching for – there, the little nodule of James's prostate. James made an undignified squealing noise, his body twitching involuntarily under the feeling, and Teddy smiled down at him. James was beautiful – so responsive to everything Teddy did. He scissored the fingers apart, added a third. Stretching James, trying to make the later penetration as easy as possible. Knotting would always be a little bit uncomfortable, at first, but James made it clear that the pleasure outweighed the pain. And if James's behaviour of late was a reaction to a lack of it, he quite literally needed it. He moved his fingers back and forth, waiting until James was whimpering and begging before exchanging them for his cock.

“This what you want, Jamie?” he asked. “My cock in you, filling you up? Owning you?”

“Yes. Yes, god, please...”

And when James looked at him like that, Teddy could almost believe that James thought he was a god. Teddy groaned, burying himself inside James's tight channel, feeling the way James's body clung to him.

“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” he could hear James sighing, over and over, hitching up against him to push him further inside.

“I've got you, James.” Teddy bent forward and bit down into James's neck again, unable to resist. Marking James, being on top of him and pinning him down beneath his weight... it was scarily addictive. “Mine,” he said, hearing the possessiveness in his voice as he spoke.

“Please.”

Teddy dragged James's arms down from their hold, his hands grasping James's wrists either side of his head, pinioning them there as he thrust into James again and again. The time for gentleness had gone: this was a claiming, and Teddy was lost in the moment, in the sheer physicality of his body against James's. The musky scent of sex and James's sweat; the broken moans and pleas falling from James's lips; the sight of James's black hair damp and messy on Teddy's pillow as his chest rose and fell with his quickened, desperate breaths. James's hard, leaking prick between their two bodies, rubbing against Teddy as he pushed into James. James's wide brown eyes getting wider as the knot began inexorably to press inside him, stretching him beyond all imagining; the way James still, even now, pushed up into the sensation, willingly taking more of Teddy, faster, harder. The slap of flesh against flesh, the way James screamed out his name as he came, a second time, before Teddy had come a first. The over-whelming feeling of Teddy's own orgasm building, the sensation of his come filling James. The tears and relief on James's face as it did so.

Fighting for breath, Teddy lay atop James, conjoined for the foreseeable future.

“Thank you,” James said quietly, his head turned to one side as if he was embarrassed to meet Teddy's eyes.

Teddy's cock was knotted inside James, yet his boyfriend couldn't meet his eyes. There was something fucked up in that, Teddy thought ruefully.

“Look at me.” James obeyed. Well, he would. “Don't you dare ever be ashamed or embarrassed of what you need,” Teddy said, kissing his mouth gently.

“Love you, Teddy,” James mumbled, still sounding ashamed.

“Love you too,” said Teddy; and it was true.

*

 _Don't you dare ever be ashamed or embarrassed of what you need,_ Teddy had told James.

James sighed, as he stretched out in Teddy's big bed. His boyfriend-soulmate-Alpha had already got up, leaving James to wake alone in a bed which still smelt of Teddy. He turned and buried his head into the pillow, breathing it in. It was all very well for Teddy to say such things, but he wasn’t the one with the urge to submit to someone else. Teddy would find it just as humiliating as James did, if it were the other way around.

James took a moment to visualise what it might be like the other way around. With Teddy coming to him, lifting his chin to bare his neck to James. Waiting for, needing, James’s bite. Begging for him. It was difficult to imagine – almost as difficult, James thought ruefully, as it would have been for him to imagine it a few months ago. And yet… he’d been a perfectly normal sixteen year old boy. He’d wanked. He’d fantasised. And yes, okay, maybe quite a few of his fantasies had involved being pinned down beneath another man… a man who quite often shared a few physical similarities with one Teddy Lupin.

Okay, _okay_. He’d fancied Teddy for ages before – this. That was hardly a great secret. He was pretty sure he’d told Teddy that, if not in heat then straight afterwards. Quite probably both. But it had never entirely occurred to him that the sort of fantasies he had were… well, maybe not entirely Alpha-like. He’d not dreamed of being fucked – not much. But the whole ‘underneath’ thing – well, maybe that might just possibly have been a recurring theme. Having someone hold him down and… yes. James felt himself growing hard and rutted against the bed a few times in a lazy sort of fashion.

“Thinking of me?”

Bloody hell, why did Teddy have to choose the most embarrassing moments to return from wherever-it-was he’d been? James blushed.

“Maybe.”

He stopped moving, but kept his face buried in the pillow, refusing to face his boyfriend. He felt Teddy sit down heavily on the bed; it bounced beneath his weight.

“I’ve had an idea,” Teddy announced brightly, as if there were no reason for embarrassment.

“Oh yeah?”

James hoped his face wasn’t glowing quite so brightly pink as he turned over and sat up. His erection, at least, had half-subsided in the awkwardness of the situation.

“Yeah.”

Teddy looked so pleased and happy that James couldn’t help grinning back at him, his heart doing an annoying sort of flip. This was _his_ Teddy, not ‘Professor Lupin’, nor even ‘Alpha!Teddy’. This was the Teddy he’d grown up with and first fallen in love with.

“Go on then. Tell me.”

Teddy smiled at him. “Fancy going out for the day?”

“What d'you mean?” James asked.

“Down into Hogsmeade, just you and me.”

“But it's not a Hogsmeade weekend,” James pointed out.

Teddy made a face. “I know that. If it were, we couldn't – not like this. I mean, I want to take you out. Be with you, like normal boyfriends."

“I'm a student. I'm not allowed out,” James said regretfully. It was flattering that Teddy appeared to have forgotten the fact, but a little frustrating: the idea of going out with Teddy was brilliant – and impossible.

“Not if you get special permission.” Teddy put his hands on James's shoulder, just for a second or two. “I reckoned we needed something. Fortunately, the Headmistress saw things the same way. It's a Saturday – Quidditch is over for the year, so you can't be needed for that, and anyway, _I_ need you. So come on. We're going out.”

“That sounds... bloody brilliant.”

And it was. Feeling like truants, they slipped out of the front gates, waiting until they were out of sight of Hogwarts grounds before reaching for each other’s hands.

“God, I feel like a school-kid again,” Teddy said, grinning.

He turned his hair bright blue, and James laughed. It was so reminiscent of when Teddy had been Head Boy, in James’s first year at Hogwarts. Teddy wandering around with his blue hair, apparently responsible for the biggest and best parties as well as for keeping discipline for most of the year.

“I’m amazed they ever let you back here to teach,” James commented.

“Nonsense. Paragon of virtue, I was – 99% of the time, anyway.”

They laughed and teased, wandering into Honeydukes and coming out with a packet of chocolate frogs for Lily and some fizzing whizzbees for Al, who had never outgrown his fondness for the childish sweets. They looked around the Hogsmeade branch of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, though Teddy pointed out that probably, as a Professor, he’d better leave off buying anything from that particular shop. James, who tended to get free samples during the holidays, agreed, and they merely examined the shelves for a while before wandering on. They had lunch together in a little sandwich shop which had been started a couple of years previously by some ex-Hogwarts students who had noticed a gap in the market.

Later, outside the Three Broomsticks, James acted on the urge which had been growing on him all day, pulling Teddy round the corner into the little alley and pushing him against the wall, kissing him hard. Teddy laughed and kissed back, his mouth warm and firm, making James's tingle in response. James groaned; he'd been wanting to do this for ages. Walking around Hogsmeade, holding Teddy's hand, sometimes with Teddy's arm around his waist, it had felt so right, but also it had left James wanting more. He curled one hand behind Teddy's head, running it through the blue hair. Teddy's tongue was beginning to explore his mouth, teasing, moving forward and then retreating again. Making James moan into his mouth, press himself closer against his boyfriend. Sensation sizzled through him, bright and sharp and wonderful. James felt like he could stand here kissing Teddy forever. But unexpectedly, Teddy was moving away, dropping to his knees in front of James.

“Teddy?” James said, uncertainly.

“Shh.”

Teddy smiled up at him, unbuttoning James's robes. He rubbed his cheek against James's groin, and James took in a hissed breath of pleasure. Merlin, that felt good.

“What are you doing?”

“Giving in,” Teddy murmured, “to an irresistible impulse.”

He flicked open James's trousers, and James found himself shaking, just a little bit. He suddenly knew what Teddy was about to do; and it was something... something they'd never actually done before. He'd sucked Teddy's cock, but this – was Teddy seriously about to reciprocate for the first time, practically in public, hidden in an alley in Hogsmeade? The inappropriateness and wrongness of it all, James discovered, as Teddy gently mouthed at his erection, only made it hotter. Only made him harder. Fuck. Teddy's warm breath against his cock, his tongue – that tongue which had been doing magical things with James's own not a minute ago – licking, _licking_ at James until James moaned out loud, covering his mouth with his hand because they were outside, where anyone might see, might hear. Where anyone might come past and see Teddy, Hogwarts' Professor Lupin, on his knees in front of James Sirius Potter, Sixth Year student, his mouth wrapped firmly round James's cock.

“God, god, _Teddy_ ,” James whispered fiercely.

He ought to stop him. He was going to do no such thing.

“Mmm.”

Teddy spoke with his mouth still attached to James, and the sensation of the noise fizzed through James, making him literally shiver in reaction. He had the urge to fist his hands in Teddy's hair, but he wasn't sure he should. He pushed one of them back against the brick wall of the pub, feeling the scratch against his skin, trying to concentrate on anything to keep himself focused, to keep himself from groaning and begging and fucking Teddy's mouth. Warm. Wet. Knowledgeable. Teddy was so fucking good at this, and James had his eyes screwed shut and was taking big, helpless, gasping breaths. His head spun, and his right hand insisted on tangling itself in Teddy's hair, despite his best intentions.

“Mmm,” said Teddy again, encouraging; and that was _it_ ; that was too much.

James couldn't help himself. “Please, oh god, please, please...” The words fell from his lips and were replaced by a series of little, wordless cries as he forgot how to speak; forgot everything except the insane, impossible ecstasy he was receiving from Teddy's amazing lips and tongue. It didn't take long, and James tried to warn Teddy in advance, but words were too complicated, and he just came, hard, in the warm depths surrounding his cock. Teddy kept his mouth there, swallowing and licking up James's come, and James's heart was about to burst out of his chest, and he didn't think he was ever going to be able to speak again, and...

He panted heavily, head thrown back against the wall, limbs feeling as wobbly as if he had just completed the hardest Quidditch game of his life. Teddy, eyes gleaming, was dusting himself down, tidying James's clothes up and climbing to his feet to take James back into his arms.

“There,” he said quietly in James's ear, kissing his neck, “is that a bit better?”

“Fuck, Teddy.” James's arms instinctively closed around Teddy, his head dropping onto his shoulder as he fought to regain some sort of control.

“Not quite.” Teddy's voice was amused, and James gave him a bit of a shove.

“Shut up. God.” He took a couple of deliberately deep breaths. “I can't believe you just did that.” He hesitated. “What about you? Are you -”

“I'm quite fine, Jamie,” Teddy said, stroking his back reassuringly. “Shh. That one was for you. Just for you.”

“God. I can't believe I just got my first blow job in a shady alley behind the Three Broomsticks. With my Professor,” James said, his mind beginning to return to him.

“Your first... Merlin, sorry.” Teddy looked embarrassed. He leaned back and looked James in the face. “I hadn't thought... I'm so sorry.”

“Bloody hell, I'm not,” James assured him, his honesty transparent. “That was fucking amazing, Teddy. God. I just – I... Bloody hell.”

“Coherency was always your best point,” Teddy teased, kissing him lightly on the lips.

James knew he was blushing. “You cheated. Not fair to expect coherency now. God.” He pulled Teddy in again, holding him as close as he possibly could. “Fuck. Not how I expected today going, but yeah. Liking it.”

Teddy gave a little snort of laughter. “I'll take that as a positive response,” he said.

“You'd better,” James retorted.

Later, they sat in the field in front of the shrieking shack. James leaned back against Teddy, who wrapped an arm around him.

“How are things?” Teddy asked. “Seriously.”

James swallowed. It was easier to talk about it all out here, somehow. Out of Hogwarts, just sitting in the sun, James and Teddy. It felt comfortable. It felt right. Fuck the school. Fuck the Alphas and the twisted amusement they seemed to get out of humiliating James. And the way the rest of the school had just fallen in line. James was sick of being the school punching bag. He liked to think that if he had been an Alpha, he wouldn't have treated someone like this.

“It's... not a lot of fun,” he confessed quietly. “They... if I'm not concentrating and someone asks me for something, tells me to do it, I just – do. Before I've had a chance to think. It's like I'm not in control. They think it's hilarious.”

“Oh, Jamie.” Teddy tightened the grip of his arm, and James sighed.

“And I'm not ashamed of belonging to you -”

“With me,” Teddy corrected quickly.

James turned his head to give Teddy a reluctant smile. “To you,” he repeated, because it _was_ like that. It was sweet of Teddy to try and argue otherwise, but the truth was that James was owned by Teddy. Not because of the laws and regulations – not _just_ because of the laws and regulations – but because when it came to Teddy, James really would do anything. With the Alphas, it was only when it was something that James wasn't really bothered about – giving up his place on the sofa, getting a drink for them – that he would mindlessly obey. If they asked him to do anything against his principles – steal something, pick on a kid, whatever (and yes, they'd tried), he'd refuse. But Teddy? James just wasn't sure. He was thankful that Teddy never would ask him for something like that, because he certainly didn't want to put it to the test. “But it's tough, sometimes. There are... comments.”

“I'd heard.”

Yes, James supposed he would have done. It was unlikely that anyone could miss it. He found himself blushing at the thought of Teddy hearing James described as 'Lupin's bitch', though it happened so often that Teddy must be aware of it. Fuck, but that was a humiliating thought. Somehow, Teddy knowing about it was worse than the description itself. Then again, Professor Flitwick had actually called him 'Lupin' the previous week. Was that actually legally his name now, James wondered suddenly. He hadn't the faintest idea. Did he even have a name any more?

“They're bollocks,” Teddy added. “I'm not your minder. I'm your partner.”

“'Omegas require an Alpha to assist them',” James quoted wryly. It was from one of the speeches made in favour of the legislation giving all rights of bonded Omegas over to their Alpha bond-mate.

“Mm.” Teddy took a deep breath. “There are other views, you know. That Omegas' magic is too powerful, and that they have to have a corresponding weakness.”

“Oh yeah?” Teddy was making that up as he went along. It was very nice of him and all, but... “Says who?”

“Professor McGonagall, if you must know,” Teddy said calmly.

James stiffened in Teddy's arms. “You're making it up.”

“Nope. It's not a popular theory,” Teddy admitted, “mostly because it doesn't make us Alphas look that good. I'm not sure I particularly appreciate being your 'corresponding weakness'. But it's there. And, to be honest, it sounds considerably more likely, knowing you, than anything else I've heard.”

James gave a soft, bitter laugh. “Well, if my magic is so damn strong, it'd be nice if I could use it. Can't work for the Ministry by law. Can't work anywhere else because no one's going to give me a bloody job.” He leaned his head back on Teddy's shoulder. “Nice try, Ted, but it's a load of crap.”

Teddy kissed his hair. “I thought you'd think that, which is why I didn't mention it before. But next time someone's telling you how weak you are... just bear it in mind, yeah? Because James Sirius Potter doesn't strike me as someone particularly weak. Come to think about it,” he added thoughtfully, “I'd say it takes a lot of strength to put up with the shit you're getting about being an Omega.”

Well. That was kind of true, James supposed. Though... “I've got you. And the family.”

There were a lot of the Potter-Weasleys, and they were all very clannish. It only took a hint of trouble for the rest of the group to rally around. Granted they were mostly younger than James, and it was a tad embarrassing having to look to kids for your defence, but it wasn't like that, not exactly. It was the feeling that at least he wasn't alone. Sometimes, in class, when even the Betas were joining in to tease him, it felt like Hogwarts was the loneliest place in the world. But when Hugo rushed over to him from the Ravenclaw table to show him the newest thing he'd read about (a total bookworm, that kid), or a group of them got together for a scratch game of Quidditch, suddenly, James was at home again, surrounded by friends. And when he was with Teddy... Well. He was too embarrassed to say so, but there really was little James had ever experienced in his life as wonderful as spending time with his soul-mate. Today had been especially incredible – possibly the best day James had ever had. And maybe he could say that. Or something.

“Today's been brilliant,” he said abruptly.

“Yeah?” Teddy sounded hopeful, boyish – maybe even a little uncertain. It was kind of cute.

James twisted his head to kiss Teddy's jaw, smiling at him. “Yeah. Best day ever.”

Teddy moved to capture James's mouth against his own. They kissed for a while, and then Teddy repeated the words softly, almost under his breath.

“Best day ever,” he said.

~

After that, time was mostly taken up with exams. Teddy and James at least had some sort of idea of how their bonding needed to work, so there were no more disastrous episodes such as there had been earlier. James was still putting up with a lot of harassment from other students, but they were thankfully distracted by exams. He couldn't honestly say it was getting any easier to deal with – if anything, the constant barrage of abuse was making him more, rather than less, stressed over time; but he knew it would be fatal to let any sign of it show. With Albus – undeniably his strongest and most potent ally – busy with his O.W.L.s...well, James knew he was a wuss but he spent more time in Teddy's rooms or in the library than in the Gryffindor Common Room. The library was a mixed blessing – there were fewer students there even at this time of year, and Madam Pince was strict enough about noise that it put a dampener on much conversation; on the other hand, it did give James the opportunity to be bullied by all Houses rather than just his own, which was something he could possibly have done without. However, he was not going to let it be said that he had been driven out, so his native stubbornness saw him through. Never, though, had he been more thankful for the end of term and the summer holidays, which would at least bring a respite – and the end of McLaggen and Finnegan in his life, which James couldn't be sorry for, though he could only presume that their places would be taken by next year's Alphas. Possibly including Al, he supposed – though at least Albus's birthday wasn't until late in the school year. And James couldn't really imagine Al turning on him, not after all he'd done for James this year. Hell, maybe Albus was too bloody nice to be an Alpha... except Teddy was – well, Teddy was more than nice, James thought, with the involuntary rush of adoration that the very thought of Teddy always produced.

Teddy had arranged with the elder Potters that he'd come home with James, Al and Lily and spend the summer there. Usually he'd spend a week or so there anyway, Harry being his godfather and the nearest thing he had to a relative since his Grandmother's death. (Technically, he was related to Draco and Scorpius Malfoy, but the Malfoys had made it plain enough that they wanted nothing to do with a werewolf's spawn. James knew that Teddy hadn't been bothered: they'd cut off ties long enough ago not to make it feel personal, and it didn't affect Teddy when he taught Scorpius. He treated him – as he did the Potter-Weasley clan – just like anybody else.) This time, however, after long discussions with James, they'd agreed to see what happened if they spent the entire summer together. James was relieved beyond measure at this – the thought of being separated from Teddy was pretty awful, though he knew he'd have to get used to it to some degree in the future. He could hardly spend the rest of his life never leaving his Alpha's side, after all. He'd not told Teddy how he felt, but somehow Teddy had seemed to know – perhaps through that emotional bond which they both shared. A little embarrassing to feel he could never have secrets from Teddy, but then again, it worked both ways.

Merlin, but the train home had been the best thing ever. Surrounded by family, stupid jokes that no one else would get... James had a sudden appreciation of being bonded with Teddy for another reason; that he had bonded with someone who 'got' them because he was, basically, one of them. Yet at the same time, Teddy was different enough that it wasn't just wrong and weird that they were together. Plus, after a term (pretty much) of it, all of James's cousins (and, of course, Al and Lily) were treating it as if it were the most normal thing in the world that he and Teddy were a couple (and not just any sort of couple, but an Alpha-Omega couple). Of course they were. Why wouldn't they be?

Which was why, when they reached the platform and saw James's parents, James felt a jolt of unanticipated pain. His mum was busy gathering up anyone – child, niece or nephew – into her arms who would come near enough to be caught. His dad, however, looked from James to Teddy and back again. A stupid thing, just such a little thing. But James wasn't an idiot, and he saw the way his father's face changed. The hug, when it came from Dad, was awkward. Forced. But James didn't have time to dwell on it, because Mum was doing her best to sweep him off his feet, despite the fact that he was six inches taller and several stone heavier than she was, these days.

“James! Darling! And you've grown again,” she said, as if it were some sort of surprise that an adolescent young man might grow in the course of the year. “Not to mention being an 'adult' and all that. Please note, that does not give you free rein at my Firewhiskey, by the way.”

“Mum, I've been drinking your Firewhiskey for the past few years,” James pointed out.

Ginny smiled. “'Free rein', I said, not 'no Firewhiskey at all’.” She turned her attention to Teddy. “Teddy, dear, you look tired. Goodness, I sound like my mother. How scary. Well, apart from the bit about Firewhiskey, anyway.”

“Ginny, it’s great to see you.”

Teddy gave Ginny a slightly tentative hug, which morphed into a real one when James’s mother made it clear that she wanted it. James hadn’t realised that Teddy would be so nervous about meeting his parents. He supposed that was one thing he had over Teddy: Teddy had no parents for James to meet, so James wouldn’t have the whole ‘this is my soul-mate, love me love him’ thing going on. Though whether that was so precisely true for an Alpha, James wasn’t entirely sure. Did Teddy love him as much as he loved Teddy? James was pretty sure he didn’t _need_ him in the same way. He bit back a sigh. It wasn’t Teddy’s fault that James was an Omega, after all. It was just… he wished it was a bit more equal, sometimes, that was all.

They walked towards the barrier, and James gave himself a mental shake as Teddy’s arm slipped around his waist. Teddy loved him and liked being with him. He had willingly – well, as willingly as an Alpha faced with an Omega-in-heat could be – bonded with James. He had certainly had a chance to walk away, and he hadn’t taken it. And god knew, Teddy had gone out of his way to try and make it as equal a relationship as he possibly could. It was just James’s stupid pride and hyper-sensitivity getting in the way. Especially when people kept looking at them like he was nothing more than some sort of appendage to Teddy.

James hoped he’d imagined it in his father. He really hoped so. Because he needed home to be homelike. Safe. Everything that Hogwarts had always been and then wasn’t. But Dad was being fine now. And James calmed down more when they got home and Mum had a fit about the fact that Teddy and James were going to sleep in the same room, while Dad just got on with things and transfigured the room around so that there was a double bed in it.

Everything was going to be fine. They were back for the summer holidays, and everything was going to be fine.

*

It had been so good at first. Watching James settle down, without the constant harassment of the kids around him. Teddy knew it had been bloody awful for him at Hogwarts, these past few months. Hadn't really known what to do about it, in all honesty – he suspected that weighing in on James's behalf would only increase the tension rather than lowering it, though he was grateful to see that James's siblings and cousins had felt no such problem. But once Ginny had accepted that yes, her son was All Grown Up in some ways, and that suggesting that Teddy and James slept in different rooms was so ridiculous as to be almost farcical, it had been brilliant to be around her, too.

“I'm sorry if this is hard for you,” Teddy apologised to her, early on.

Ginny fixed him with that look. “I've never seen James so happy as he is when you two are together,” she had said. Their gaze had locked for several seconds, and then she had turned back to cooking. “And if I don't make something edible tonight, Harry will spend another evening gloating over the fact that he is considerably better in the kitchen than I am,” she added briskly. “Which is true – but I'm not giving him room to gloat.”

Teddy laughed, and the conversation was at an end. But it was so good to have her approval. She'd always been a bit of a big sister to Teddy. Harry, weighed down with godfatherly responsibilities, had always tried to act in a parental fashion. Ginny had had no time for that; and when Teddy watched James interact with Lily and his littler cousins, he was often reminded of Ginny's relationship with him. James was very different to both of his parents, but his ability – and Ginny's – to shed superiority and interact with younger kids on a level playing field was a lovely part of him. No, Ginny had been even more welcoming and supportive than Teddy could have expected. She wasn't the reason Teddy's temper had been growing increasingly thin.

The problem was Harry. Harry – and more especially the way he was behaving towards James.

That was the long and the short of it. It was Harry. Teddy coped with a couple of weeks of Harry denigrating everything James did, and looking at Teddy as if he were James’s owner, but with ever decreasing patience.

“Doesn’t it drive you mad?” he demanded of James.

James gave him a Look. “What, having my dad treat me as if I’m worthless? No, Teddy, I think it’s just fucking marvellous. But what do you think I’m supposed to do about it?”

“Tell him to...” Teddy stopped and bit down heavily on his lip. Most of the things he’d like to tell Harry to do were not only anatomically impossible, but extremely vulgar. And probably rather unhelpful, if truth be told. “He’s killing me,” he said instead. “If it weren’t for your mum, I think I’d’ve walked out by now.”

“To be fair, he’s stressed mindless by Pure Life,” James said.

Pure Life were the neo-Death Eater group which Harry had been dealing with for months. They were a particularly unpleasant society with vicious tendencies, and a scary amount of popularity. Teddy knew that the concerns were real, but he found James defending Harry even more excruciating than Harry’s behaviour, if truth be told. James shouldn’t have to put up with being treated like this by anyone, let alone his own father.

“Yeah,” he said grimly, making yet another resolution to try harder to cope with Harry’s attitude. “Apparently so.”

But a week later, Teddy had had enough.

“I’m going to talk to him,” he said to James.

“You won’t help matters.”

“Not saying anything isn’t helping matters. It’s making me want to curse him, and I think cursing my godfather, and the Saviour of the Wizarding World is possibly not going to help matters either,” Teddy shot back.

James sighed. “Yeah. Yeah. Just – keep it civil, okay? I mean it, Teddy.” He sounded stern.

Not much Omega about James there, then. Teddy liked it.

“No cursing unless he starts it,” Teddy promised.

He bearded Harry later.

“Harry, can I talk to you?”

Harry frowned. “Now? I’m a bit busy. Pure Life -”

“Are not more important than your son,” Teddy snapped. “I want to talk about James.”

“What about him?”

“If you can't treat James with a little more respect than you're doing at the moment,” Teddy said, his voice low but no less threatening for that, “then I will have to leave. I'm not staying here to have my boyfriend insulted.”

“Your boyfriend?” Harry raised his eyebrows.

“What the hell else do you think he is?” demanded Teddy. “No, on second thoughts, don't even answer that. I don't think I would appreciate your answer. I love James, and we're together. In my eyes, that makes him my boyfriend. I know you may not approve of the fact that I'm dating your seventeen year old son, and I apologise for that. This wasn't a situation any of us anticipated. But it's what's happening, and James does not deserve to be treated like some sort of -” He broke off, and waved his hand around helplessly. The obvious word was 'Omega'. Harry was treating James like Alphas had, apparently, always treated Omegas. But this was his _son_ , for Merlin's sake! “Lesser being,” he finished.

“And why is 'your boyfriend' not having this conversation with me?” Harry asked pointedly. “If he doesn't need you to fight his battles for him?”

Teddy took a deep breath – and immediately wished he hadn't as his nose was assaulted by the scent of Harry's fury and outrage. This was his godfather, he reminded himself. The man who'd been the nearest thing to a father to him. Harry had always been brilliant, whether it was looking after Teddy as a kid, encouraging him in his teaching ambitions, supporting him when he came out as gay... Whenever Teddy had needed something, needed _anything_ , Harry had been there for him. Punching him hard in the face because he was currently acting like a total wanker was not an appropriate response.

Quietly, he said, “I am the one struggling with your behaviour, not James. Therefore, I am the one speaking to you about an issue _I_ have with you. I am asking you, man to man, to treat James respectfully and not act as if you are looking down on him.”

“When I need advice as to how to speak to my own son -” Harry began.

“Apparently,” Teddy said, over him, “you need precisely that at the moment, which is why I am giving it to you.”

For a second, he thought Harry was going to pull his wand on him. Teddy tensed up, waiting. Harry was an Auror; an extremely experienced one – if he wanted to take on a schoolteacher in a duel, there was going to be one winner, and it wasn't going to be Teddy. But Harry's hand fell away, and he merely glared up at Teddy.

Teddy sighed. “This is James's family. He should feel happy and safe here. You're his father. I hate standing by and seeing you act like this to him. I can't do it.”

“So, this is a threat?” Harry said angrily. “Do as you tell me, or you'll take my son away? Not just from me, but from his mother, his siblings. I hope you're proud of yourself, Teddy.”

That duel was looking like a better idea all the time. Even if he lost, at least Teddy would get to cast some hexes in Harry's direction. But he wouldn't start a fight with his godfather. He'd promised James to keep things civil; and if he didn't quite manage that, at least he wouldn't do anything unforgivable.

“I said nothing about James,” he corrected Harry. “I said that I would leave. As far as I know, James has no intention of doing so. But I can't watch you treat him in this way.”

“You'd leave your bonded Omega behind?” Harry said, his voice showing his disbelief.

“ _James_ makes his own decisions,” Teddy said through gritted teeth, emphasising his boyfriend’s name.

Harry glared at him. “Fine. Do you know what, Teddy? I think that's a fine plan. Go on, then. Leave.”

Teddy looked back at his godfather for fifteen full seconds. He bit his lips hard between his teeth to prevent himself saying anything, then simply nodded and turned on his heel.

“I'm sorry, James,” he said, five minutes later, up in James's bedroom. “I tried.” He put his head in his hands. “To be honest, I think I just made things worse. But I can't stay. Your Dad basically told me to leave – challenged me. And he's right. It's not working, not like this.”

“Teddy.” James sounded shocked, and when Teddy forced himself to remove his hands and look at his boyfriend, James looked shocked, too. “You can't leave.”

“I can't stay.”

“What did he say?”

“I think his final words were, 'Go on, then. Leave,'” Teddy said expressionlessly.

“But you can't make me choose between my family and you,” James said. He gave a bitter laugh. “Not like there's a choice. It's you. It's always going to be you, whether I like it or not.”

Teddy put an arm out and touched James's shoulder. “Stay. This is your family, your home. Stay. If I'm not here, hopefully your dad will...” _get his head out of his arse and start treating you decently._ Okay, Teddy couldn't quite say that. “...settle down a bit. Get used to things. I'm clearly rubbing him up the wrong way – and,” Teddy said ruefully, “he's sure as hell doing it to me. I'm going to do something none of us can come back from if I stay, and I don't want that. This is my family, too, and I'm not going to break it apart. But I can't stay under the same roof as Harry, not at the moment.”

“But you can't leave me.” There was a note of utter desolation in James's voice, and Teddy felt like the worst person in the world.

“We'll meet up,” he promised. “I'm not going away and refusing to see you. I'll let you know when I know where I'm staying. Leaky Cauldron tonight, but I'll need to look for somewhere a little more permanent. See if I can't get a couple of rooms somewhere, like I did last summer. You're an adult, we can make arrangements to meet. A lot,” he said, his hand gripping James's shoulder a little bit tighter. The thought of being apart from James for more than a day or so was pretty horrible to Teddy, too, if he were quite honest with himself.

“I'm not allowed to Apparate,” James reminded him.

Another thing about being an Omega. Because obviously you would always have an Alpha to Side-Along you from one place to another. Teddy's levels of anger towards the regulations surrounding Omegas increased with the day. He wondered whether his mum had felt like this about the werewolf legislation; whether his dad would have had some idea of what James was going through. It had been years since he'd really mourned the fact that he'd never known his parents, but he had a sudden wistful longing for them. They'd have been, he thought bitterly, a damn sight more helpful than Harry was being.

No. That wasn't fair. Harry was just acting like every other bloody Alpha. It was just that Teddy had always looked up to him so much. He wanted him to be _better_ than everyone else. Especially when it was James involved. And yes, Teddy knew that Harry was already stressed over Pure Life, or whatever the fucking stupid name of this fucking stupid neo-Death Eater group was – but this was his son, for Merlin's sake.

He took a deep breath. “Floo, then. Talk to Ginny. She'll help you sort something out. James, I'm not deserting you, I swear.”

“No,” said James, but his voice was flat. “Of course you're not.”

Teddy opened his mouth to speak, but there was nothing more, really, to be said. He leaned forward, tilting up James's chin and kissing his mouth, running his fingers lightly over James's mark; then Disapparated.

*

James looked at the space where his boyfriend had been and tried not to freak the hell out. Teddy had left. Actually left. James felt like a little bit of his soul had been ripped out and taken away. Perhaps it had; perhaps that was what a soul-bond did. Teddy actually owned part of his soul, and now he'd left and it had gone with him, leaving James incomplete. He wondered whether Teddy could feel his distress; whether it mattered to him. Part of him wanted to follow Teddy, to fling himself at Teddy's feet and say he didn't care about his family, he just needed to be wherever Teddy was – please, please couldn't they be together? But another part had too much pride. If Teddy could just leave like that... clearly James didn't matter that much. Bad enough to need Teddy in all the ways he already did; James would cling to the last remnants of his pride with everything he had, even if it killed him. And right now, it felt rather as if it might.

He was still staring at the point where Teddy had stood when his mother came into the room.

“James?”

He turned to look at her. She looked worried, soft brown eyes looking him up and down.

“Well,” he said stonily, “he's left. I hope Dad's pleased.”

"Oh, darling. Your Dad didn't mean for this to happen,” Mum said quietly.

“No?” James demanded. “Funny, from what I heard from Teddy, he was pretty obvious about it. 'Go on then, leave.' It doesn't exactly leave a lot to the imagination.”

“He was angry,” Mum said – not denying that Dad had said those words, James noted. At least Teddy hadn't been making it up, though on the other hand, that meant that Dad had actually ordered Teddy from the house, which in turn meant... James didn't want to think about what that meant, or how that made him feel. “And he's worried. About Pure Life. About you. He – he doesn't always cope with anger in the best ways, I know. But he's doing his best, Jamie.”

James's own anger dissolved in the face of his mother's love. It had been superficial anyway, he realised; there as a sort of protection against the true emotions he was feeling. Fear. Betrayal. A soul-deep unhappiness.

“What'm I going to do, Mum?” he whispered.

Ginny stepped forward and took her son into her arms, holding him close. James's head sank onto her shoulder, and he felt betraying tears come to his eyes.

“It's okay,” she said, stroking his hair as she'd used to do when he was a kid. “It's okay, James. Teddy will – Teddy loves you, darling. That much is more than clear. He won't let you suffer. And your Dad loves you, too. He just needs to get used to things. It was a shock for us all, you know, to have you bonded to someone else. You've always been our James, and now – well,” she said, kissing the top of his head, “Teddy comes first, doesn't he? Just as he should.”

“He's not here.”

“What did he say?” Ginny asked practically. Always practical, James's mum.

“That we'd meet up.” James tightened his arms for a second around his mum before letting go and stepping back. “To ask you to help me sort out Flooing – I can't Apparate, of course.”

“I'll do that. You know I will.”

“Yeah. He doesn't even have anywhere to stay, Mum.”

James sat down heavily on the bed. The double bed. The one that had been a single all his life, until this summer. Until Teddy. Could James even actually _sleep_ without Teddy? He wasn't exactly going to worry about being assaulted in his own home, but still. He was used to it, used to the warmth of Teddy; the stupid, embarrassing relief of knowing that his soul-mate was there, just a fingertip away from him (closer still, sometimes, if James managed to cuddle up). But he couldn't say any of that. Hell, he couldn't even tell Teddy how much he needed him near, let alone admit it to his mother. Especially as his dad would see it as further 'proof' of how pathetic and unworthy James now was – just an extension of Teddy, not a person in his own right.

“Jamie, Teddy’s a grown man. He’ll sort it out.” Ginny smiled at him. “And we’ll make sure you can get to see him, if I have to Side-Along you there myself.”

James flushed, not sure he’d want his mother seeing any reunion between himself and Teddy after days apart. “Thanks, Mum,” he mumbled, though.

“It’ll be fine.” His mum twitched the bed covers neater, and picked up a sheet of paper from the floor, putting it on the table. “Now, I’ll go and have a word or two with Al and Lily, just to explain. Don’t worry, James. We’ll sort this out.”

“Yeah.”

When she had gone, James flung himself down on the bed, breathing in the last of Teddy’s smell, and feeling like hell. He only moved when there was a tap at the window. An owl. From Teddy? Opening the window, he gave the owl a treat and took the letter from its leg. Teddy’s handwriting. James opened it eagerly, but it was brief and to the point.

_James,_

_I’m at the Leaky. I’ll try and get rooms somewhere in the next day or two and let you know an address. Hope all is well._

_Yours,_

_Teddy_

James felt – well, hurt and disappointed, if truth be told. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d wanted in a letter from Teddy, but more than that. Some sort of reassurance that he still mattered, that he hadn’t been forgotten. Left behind and rejected. Yes, Teddy had said he’d give him an address, but there was nothing about meeting. Nothing about – well, anything, really. Not about being sorry that he’d left, or missing James. James hadn’t expected love letters or anything, but something a little bit more than a couple of scribbled lines would have been nice. He ran his fingers over the looped handwriting, as if he would be able to feel Teddy in the press of his letters, and felt more alone than ever.

*

Teddy seethed. His Apparation had been somewhat off target after leaving James – possibly he’d been just a trifle upset, or something – and he’d had a mile’s walk to the Leaky Cauldron. In the rain. By the time he reached it, he was wet and grumpier than ever; and being informed that the only free room was one that he’d have to share with another wizard was not making his day any better.

“Take it or leave it,” the witch behind the desk said, looking at Teddy’s rain-drenched person with the sort of expression which suggested that she rather hoped he was going to go with ‘leave it’.

Teddy sighed. “Thanks. I’ll take it.”

By the time he’d dried himself off, and realised that he’d left all of his clothes in James’s room (probably another reason the witch had been giving him such a dirty look), he was feeling a little bit more human. Going downstairs, he asked:

“Are there any owls I can borrow for a letter?”

The witch gave him a slightly more appreciative look – Teddy was not bad looking, he knew (heck, even if he had been, he could have done something about it, given a bit of thought and his morphing abilities) – and almost smiled.

“Yes, there’s a couple in the owlery out the back. We charge a sickle for the use.”

“Fair enough.” Teddy passed one over. “Don’t suppose you have some paper and a quill as well?” he added, ruefully realising his lack of all vital equipment.

She rolled her eyes at this, but passed some over. With a bit of thought, Teddy scribbled a couple of lines. He wanted to get something back to James quickly – reassure him he wasn’t forgotten. At the same time, he didn’t know who would pick up the letter and he was damned if he’d let Harry intercept something saying anything too sentimental. In the end, he settled on:

_James,_

_I’m at the Leaky. I’ll try and get rooms somewhere in the next day or two and let you know an address. Hope all is well._

_Yours,_

_Teddy_

He hoped James would understand the depth of meaning in the ‘Yours’. He was James’s, now and forever. And he missed him abominably already. Biting back that thought, he returned the quill with a smile and some thanks and went to send his letter before heading out to buy a few essentials.

~

It only took a day to find rooms which would do for the rest of summer. There were only a few weeks left, and Teddy wasn’t fussy (especially not if it would get him away from sharing a room with the gentleman who had farted continuously in his sleep the previous night). Plus, with the money he’d been left by his grandmother in her will and the money he made from teaching, he wasn’t exactly impoverished. He didn’t own a house because there didn’t seem much point – he spent most of his time at Hogwarts, and he liked having the freedom to go where he would in the holidays, so most of Andromeda Black’s belongings were either in a vault in Gringotts or at Grimmauld Place, which Harry owned, though he refused to live there.

Teddy found a place just a short distance from Diagon Alley. It was over-priced for what it was – two rooms, with a bathroom and a kitchen added in what had, he suspected, originally been cupboards – but they took short leases, and it was convenient enough. It would do. He’d heard back from James after his letter, but James’s response had been shorter even than Teddy’s original:

_Teddy,_

_Thanks for letting me know._

_James_

No valediction at all. Teddy could feel James’s hurt seeping out of the page, and he felt unutterably guilty, but there seemed no sense in writing again until he had something more to say. When they met up, Teddy would try and make it clear how he felt, he vowed. He just hoped that Harry was being less bloody awful. But thinking about Harry was enough to get Teddy’s blood boiling, so he pushed the thought back down again. He had another night at the Leaky, and then he could owl James tomorrow with his new address and they could make arrangements to meet. Teddy had made sure that the new place was on the Floo Network, so there wouldn’t be any problems with the fact that James couldn’t Apparate.

~

Teddy had barely set foot in his new rooms except to put the small amount of luggage he’d accumulated down there before he was setting out to find an owl. James. James had been on his mind the entire time, if he was honest. He dithered – positively he dithered – as to whether to give James a specific time, or whether to leave it up to him, and decided that leaving his lover with some sort of control over the situation would probably be tactful. In the end, therefore, he just sent something with his address and the added comment, _I’ll be in all day tomorrow, hoping to see you._ He had so much he wanted to say to James, so much he wanted to ask. But “Has Harry stopped being an arse?” was tactless, and anything more subtle would just make him look ridiculous. Teddy hesitated over “I love you,” but surely James knew that? And anyway, Teddy had to admit to being kind of hurt by James’s brevity in the message he’d received from him. How could you send loving messages to someone who sent you a one line note? _Best, Teddy_ , he ended up finishing. Best what? Love? Good wishes? Thoughts? He’d leave it for James to work out and then make it up when he saw him next.

But all of Teddy’s good intentions were forgotten almost the moment he saw James. His bond-mate stepped out of the Floo, dusting himself down and dropping a heavy bag presumably filled with Teddy’s things, then looked around.

“Nice room,” he said, a touch of sarcasm in his voice; but Teddy hardly heard him. His mind was taken over by the closeness of James, by the scent of anxiety in the air; the feeling he was getting from James of uncertainty, as if even now he wasn’t sure of Teddy.

It was unbearable. Teddy strode forward and pulled James roughly into his arms, kissing him hard. James clung back, his mouth opening under Teddy’s and his whole body melding in against Teddy’s own. Teddy held him so close that it was almost painful, one thigh shoved firmly between James’s legs. For a few breathless minutes they did nothing but hold and kiss. Finally, Teddy pulled away, suddenly realising that he hadn’t even said “hello,” let alone anything more. He opened his mouth to do so, but a little moan slipped from James’s throat and Teddy was lost again. Pushing James’s head back, he bit firmly down into his neck, reclaiming what was his. James cried out: the bite had been harder than usual; but he did not pull away. 

Instead, Teddy could hear him murmuring, “Please, please...”

“Mine,” Teddy said, finally withdrawing enough to speak.

James’s eyes were mostly pupil. “Yours,” he affirmed huskily. “Please.”

Teddy groaned. “James, I need you.”

He had intended, he had really, really, intended, to talk – to ask how James was; to catch up on everything. Not to drag James into bed the moment he came into the flat. But James was here, in his arms – his Omega, from whom he had been parted for three long days. It was impossible to think of anything but his need to remind James how much they belonged together.

And it wasn’t as if James was complaining. Anything but. James was making little whimpery noises against his shoulder, holding Teddy so tight that Teddy was getting a vivid reminder of just how strong his lover was, as well as an extremely pleasant discovery of quite how hard James was for him. They were almost of a height, so James’s erection was pressing heavily against Teddy’s own, and Merlin, Teddy just wanted to fuck him right now.

“Bed,” Teddy said, half-dragging his boyfriend in the direction of the small bedroom. The tininess of the room made the bed look enormous in comparison, taking up three-quarters of the space.

“Teddy...”

Teddy barely heard. He tried so hard to keep control – not to push James bodily onto the bed and take him brutally hard and fast, tempting though that was on some level of his mind. He knew he wasn’t as gentle as he might be; knew also that he had his mouth to James’s skin wherever possible, leaving marks. Marks of possession, of claiming, of _James, soul-mate, Omega, mine_. Things he hoped he wasn’t saying aloud.

“Oh,” said James; and “oh,” again.

He was naked – Teddy wasn’t quite sure when and how that had happened. All he knew was that the sounds James were making were beautiful, erotic, needed.

“That’s right, Jamie,” he said, his voice almost a growl, “moan for me.”

James was flushed with arousal and a little embarrassment, Teddy thought. His hair was sweaty and clinging damply to his forehead, and he was taking everything Teddy gave and wordlessly asking for more.

Or maybe not so wordlessly, as:

“Please,” James said again; and Teddy removed his fingers from the position they’d somehow managed to find inside James, and switched them for his cock, pushing into James with a firm motion. Loving the way there was resistance and then that sudden _give_. James yowled as Teddy hit his prostate, arching his spine and throwing his head back in clear bliss. There was something coming from his mouth, but it wasn’t words: it seemed James was too far gone for that. Teddy reached down and touched his prick, and James was coming, before Teddy had even moved his fingers the slightest amount, crying out Teddy’s name.

Teddy’s teeth were fastened on James’s claim-mark without his conscious volition, and he pushed further, his knot stretching James to the limit. But James took it all, still caught up in his moment.

In truth, it took little more for Teddy to come. A few strokes, and the feeling of James clenching around him in his ecstasy, was enough to push him over the edge. Or rather – over that first edge; the intense moment where everything spun and nothing mattered but the feeling and James, James – James. But there was the orgasm, and then – it only happened when he was knotted to James, and it had been extremely disconcerting the first time – little after-shocks which ran through, where Teddy came some more. Not constant, but as if there had been an earthquake, and then there were tremors that followed. Truth to tell, they made Teddy a little self-conscious: by the time they happened, James was usually finished as regards his own pleasure, and coming when his partner was basically finished made Teddy feel somewhat exposed. James must know what was happening – he could hardly help but notice the wetness spreading inside him – but he didn’t comment, allowing Teddy to lie there and work through it in his own way. They had both finished their main orgasmic moment, and James was breathing hard, his back tucked in against Teddy’s chest, and Teddy’s hand covered in James’s come. He wiped it on the sheet and then closed his arm around James, holding him close as they both came down from the high.

The first of the after-waves caught Teddy, and he lowered his mouth to the point between James’s neck and shoulder, sucking on it. James’s flesh would bloom with red where Teddy’s mouth had been; and Teddy shouldn’t enjoy that quite as much as he did. James made a little noise of pleasure, however, and Teddy stopped worrying about the ‘ought’ and ‘ought not’ which plagued him so often in his dealing with his young bond-mate.

It was, in truth, still difficult to concentrate on anything when he was knotted, but it seemed ridiculous to lie there in silence, so Teddy began to tell James about their time apart: how he’d Apparated in the wrong place; the farting wizard (James laughed, unsympathetic brat); Teddy’s suspicion that the kitchen and the bathroom in the rooms had been cupboards originally. It was nice, in a way, this downtime – where nothing wildly important got said, but Teddy felt that he and James were sharing things. There were gaps in his narrative, where he just stopped and held James, feeling a shock go through him. James was quiet in those moments, though he sometimes made a small noise which sounded happy. Teddy hoped it was, anyway. In return for Teddy’s conversation, James chatted too. He didn’t say much about his family, though he did say that Lily had beaten Al to the Snitch several times in garden practice, to the point that Al was murmuring that he might try out for Chaser next season, and acknowledge that when it came to Quidditch, he was the dunce of the family - “that’s rubbish, of course,” James added, “but Lil’s bloody good.”

Finally, the knot subsided, and Teddy pulled out with one last kiss to James’s neck. James groaned, and rolled over, wincing a little but smiling up at Teddy with evident satisfaction, even as Teddy felt the come leaking onto the bed. He ought to do something about that, he thought vaguely, but as James wriggled round and snuggled against him (James was, rather improbably, a fan of snuggling: something Teddy would never have guessed before they became bonded), he found it difficult to care. Especially as there were some other things which were bothering Teddy considerably more. He put his arms around James in return, and took a deep breath.

“Okay. First things first.” Teddy gave a rueful thought to what had literally been the first thing. He couldn’t regret it, however; and looking at James, who was looking thoroughly well shagged and extremely pleased, he didn’t think his boyfriend did, either. “How are things _really_ at home?”

“I’ve not seen much of Dad. He’s been bound up in Pure Life stuff – loads of personal threats going around, apparently. Mostly aimed at him and us, of course. Al and Lily aren’t allowed out of the house.”

“I’m amazed you’re here,” Teddy murmured grimly.

“Mum supported me. I’d’ve come anyway, Ted. You know that,” James said quietly.

“They’re really threatening your family?”

“Dad’s always a target.”

James shrugged. He was used to it. It had almost driven Harry out of the Aurors at one point, Teddy knew – every group of Dark Wizards with a point to prove liked the thought of doing what Voldemort hadn’t managed and killing Harry Potter. But he was skilled enough that the Ministry had asked him to stay, reckoning that he added more than he took away. Ginny had been worried about losing him whilst the children were still small, but she would never have asked him to give up anything just for her peace of mind. This was the first time, as far as Teddy was aware, that Harry’s family had actually been targeted, however.

“It’s probably nothing. All mouth and no robes, most of these groups,” James added.

“Ye-eah.” But Harry seemed to be taking them more seriously than he had other ones, and Teddy trusted his godfather on this, at any rate. “So things haven’t been – awkward?”

“No more than before.”

James opened his mouth to say something more, but before he could, the room shook unexpectedly. Teddy sat up quickly, pulling away from James.

“What the hell’s that?” James demanded.

“The wards.” Teddy’s mouth was dry. James’s words. _Loads of threats going around… Al and Lily aren’t allowed out of the house_. “Clothes.”

He swung his legs out of bed and thrust James’s trousers at him, tugging on his own.

“You don’t think...”

“I’m not thinking. I’m acting.”

The wards were shaking even more thoroughly now. Teddy knew that to anyone really determined, they’d cause no real problem. He hadn’t thought it worth putting up anything much – it wasn’t exactly as if he had anything in the rooms that would be worth stealing.

Nothing except James. Who was, it seemed, top on the hit list for a terrorist group.

James was in his trousers now, and was fighting with his T-shirt. Teddy bundled him out of the bedroom towards the fire.

“James, get out,” he said urgently.

“I’m not leaving y-”

“James.” Teddy had rarely used his power over James, but if ever there was a moment for it... “Through the Floo. Lock it the other side. Tell your mum to call Harry. Do it. Now.”

James’s eyes flew to his for a second. Teddy reached out and touched his shoulder, wanting that final moment. Then James was throwing a handful of Floo powder into the fire, stepping in, and was gone. Swallowing hard, Teddy clutched his wand, and waited.

*

James stumbled out of the Floo. Mum was in the room, curled up on a chair, reading. She looked up when he half-fell out of the fireplace. God knew what he must look like. He’d shrugged his clothes on straight after sex, not even washing; his shirt, he realised, was inside-out, and his hair probably looked like Dad’s.

“James, what’s wrong? What has he done to you?”

Mum sounded horrified. She had got out of her chair so quickly that James could hardly believe she’d been in it a second ago. Her hands were on the marks on his neck – not just the claim mark, but others. Teddy had not been gentle, nor had James wanted him to be. Usually, they Vanished the marks afterwards, but there had been no time to think about something as trivial as that.

“Mum...”

“Oh Godric, what has he _done_?”

“Close the Floo,” James said hoarsely.

His mother’s eyes flashed. “I’ll go over there and -”

“It’s not Teddy. Close it. Please, Mum.”

His urgency must have won out. Ginny waved her wand and closed the link. Hopefully Dad wouldn’t need to use it to get back. But safer this way than…

“James, tell me. Where did you get those marks? Does he hurt you?”

James shook his head. “There… Pure Life… I think – fuck, I just left him. I _left_ him with… God, I need to go back.”

“You’re not making sense.” His mother took a deep breath, and her hands, which had been grasping his T-shirt in fists, loosened. “Tell me what’s going on, Jamie.”

“Dad needs to get over to Teddy’s,” James said, remembering the rest of Teddy’s order, and obeying it unquestioningly. “Someone was trying to break his wards. Teddy said they’d manage; the wards weren’t strong. We – he reckoned, given what Dad’s been saying, it was likely to be Pure Life.” He put his face in his hands. “And I left him there, Mum. Alone. He made me come back.”

Ginny’s arms went around him. “Shh. It’s okay. I’ll call your dad right now.”

“I need to go back to him!” The worst thing was knowing. James could sense that something was happening; Teddy was in danger. The bond was almost screaming at him, telling of Teddy’s fear and determination.

“You can’t,” his mum said. “And he wouldn’t want you to. You know that. Let me contact Dad.”

It took only a couple of minutes for her to be speaking to his father. James knew that his mum had insisted years ago that Harry should always be available for her calls, no matter what the situation. And Dad might be the Alpha in the relationship, but that didn’t mean his mother was someone to be trifled with. Dad knew when to back down.

Which he hadn’t over Teddy. Was Teddy really not important enough? Or was it James who was not important enough?

James hated himself for thinking about that now. It wasn’t relevant, not when his Teddy was – shit, the connection had gone silent. Teddy was alive – James would know if anything had happened to him. But he was clearly unconscious. He could hear his mother talking urgently to Dad, and turned away to wipe frustrating tears from his eyes. Now was not the moment for that, either. Teddy. God, Teddy, whose first determination had been to get James to safety whilst he…

“Dad’s going straight there,” Mum said, jerking James back to the present moment. “I gave him the address.”

“Of course,” James agreed. He added, slowly, “Teddy’s not there.”

Ginny looked at him. “How do you know?”

“I just do. It’s a – thing.” James paced back and forth. “He’s unconscious, Mum. Still alive, but...” His mind was running on only one line. “I left him.”

“James Sirius Potter, listen to me,” Ginny said sternly. “He told you to. If Dad told me to do something, I’d do it at once.” She gave what might, in other circumstances, have been a smile. “At least, in that situation,” she added. “And Teddy was right. This way, you’ve told the authorities. We’ve got a much better chance of doing something about it than if you’d stayed, and if you think about it for more than a second, you’ll know it. Now, stop going over the same old thing and think about what you’re going to tell the Aurors. They’ll need to know everything about what happened.”

She was right. It was Uncle Ron who came. James went through it, as clearly as he could.

“The wards shivered, and -”

“Where were you?” Ron asked, leaning forward on the kitchen table and staring across at James.

James blushed. “Um… in bed,” he told the table-top. He hurried on. “We got up and then Teddy told me to go through the Floo and shut it and get Dad, so… yeah.”

He had to go over it a dozen more times, in more detail than he cared to think about. The good thing about it being Uncle Ron was that he looked almost as awkward as James felt when it came to discussing quite what had been happening between James and Teddy when they first realised that something was going on. At least they had, in fact, stopped fucking at that point – what with Teddy’s knot, it always took a while, and James was suddenly struck by wondering what would have happened if Pure Life had been half an hour earlier, whilst James and Teddy were inextricably bound to each other. He felt himself heating up to an inordinate degree, and by the way his mother pushed a glass of water towards him, it was more than obvious. However, finally Ron was done, and James was left, pacing up and down and worrying about the man who mattered more to him than anyone else in the world.

*

Afterwards, Teddy could only be proud that he’d put up as much fight as he had. There had been one man unconscious, and another woman disarmed by the time they’d managed to knock him out. It was ironic that a group of people so desperate to rid the world of Muggles had in fact managed to kidnap him in the end by means of one of them coming up behind him whilst he was duelling two others and bashing him on the head, but Teddy decided that probably it was better not to point that out. Instead, he woke with a splitting headache and a feeling of intense frustration and anger.

It was all so _pointless_. There were so many Muggles in the world that even if you did think that they ought not to exist, or at the very least be some sort of slave-class, you weren’t going to be able to do anything about it. Quite apart from the fact that there seemed to be a number of Muggles who were as unpleasant as the people who’d kidnapped him, and had created weapons the likes of which the Wizarding world could hardly comprehend. And what the terrorists thought that capturing Teddy Lupin, a Hogwarts teacher of no particular note, could do, Teddy wasn’t sure. Except that he had a horrible suspicion that this had nothing to do with him, and everything to do with a certain young man who had recently left his premises.

Had they had some sort of tracking charm on James? And surely they must have realised by now that Teddy was not, in fact, James Potter? Teddy found himself overcome by anxiety, pacing up and down the bare room he found himself in. Whatever the situation, surely someone would come and explain it to him shortly? But time passed, and Teddy grew (much to his surprise – surely anxiety would cancel such things out?) very hungry, and still no one came.

At which point, to be quite frank, he began to get more than a little bit cross.

*

By the time his father got home, James was in a state of distinct agitation. Albus had spent a few minutes with him and wisely decided that he was making things worse rather than better, so had collected Lily firmly and taken her off to play numerous games of Exploding Snap.

“If I can’t do anything else for you, Jamie...” his final words had been to his brother; and James knew that when he was feeling less on edge, he’d be grateful to Al for his tactful sympathy.

“Something’s happened. I know it has,” he snapped at his dad the moment Dad got in the door.

Harry looked tired and harassed. “Yes,” he acknowledged. “The rooms at the address you gave us were empty -”

“Teddy’s rooms,” James corrected, through gritted teeth. There was something in the way his father had spoken which made him feel like Dad was claiming that Teddy had never been there. That James was an Omega, and therefore not to be trusted on anything, even this.

His dad sighed. “Teddy’s rooms, if you prefer,” he agreed. “The bag you took over was still in the – main room, I suppose you’d call it. There were signs of a struggle, James. And...” Dad ran a hand through his hair, as he always did when he was stressed. “There were signs. Pure Life signs. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, Harry.” Mum had gone to Dad’s side and put her arms around him. “It’s not your fault, darling.”

James begged to differ. If Dad hadn’t pissed Teddy off so much that he’d felt obliged to leave, he wouldn’t have _been_ there to be taken. He’d have been here. James knew he just wanted to blame someone else, though. He’d actually been there with Teddy, and he’d left him – he’d left him even though he knew that Teddy, at any rate, had believed that Pure Life were outside. And James had just – gone.

“Thanks, love.” James’s father gave his mother a quick kiss. “Can you see how the other two are?”

Her eyes flew to his face. She knew, as well as James did, that it was an excuse to get her out of the way. But she smiled and nodded.

“Of course. They’ll want to know. They’re very fond of Teddy, you know,” she added.

“James,” Harry said, the moment Ginny was out of the room, “Come into the garden.” James followed him out there, silently. When they were both standing far away from the house and from any prying ears, James’s dad went on: “I know you’re worried, but there is no need yet.”

“No?” James bit down into his lips to prevent himself saying too much.

“We know Pure Life have taken – have probably taken him,” James’s father corrected himself, “but that doesn’t mean that he’s in imminent danger.”

“And you’d feel that way if it were Albus, would you?” James demanded.

“James. Jamie, listen...”

“No, Dad, _you_ listen,” James said fiercely. “If they've got Teddy, then I'm doing something about it. I will rip this fucking world apart to find him, do you hear me?” He was shaking with the force of his emotions. Teddy. His Teddy, in danger.

His father's jaw had dropped slightly, and he was staring at James as if seeing a totally new person. But James hadn't got time to worry about that right now.

“Besides,” James continued, forcing his voice to sound calmer, “you need me. I'm the one person who can give you a fair idea of where Teddy is. Presuming you're going to bother to rescue him, that is,” he added, unable to stop the bitterness as he remembered the fraught relationship between the two men this summer.

“Of course I am,” Harry said at last, his voice sounding scratchy and tired. “James, you must know that. Even if work wanted me to leave him, he's my godson. After you three and your mother, Teddy's my highest priority in life. He always has been.” He hesitated. “You say you know where Teddy is? How?”

James flushed. Now the first of his anger was over, and he knew that Dad was going to help, he was beginning to realise that he had just been yelling not only at his father, but at an Alpha. A very powerful Alpha. He fought the urge to babble frantic apologies, and concentrated on the question.

“The bond,” he muttered. “I mean, I can... sense him. In my head.”

“Okay.” His dad took a deep breath. “James. James. Let's sit down a second. Discuss what we're going to do. The Ministry can't – won't – authorise an official rescue mission, but they've told me privately that what I do in my own time is my own affair.” He gave a slight smile. “And given me several days leave, coincidentally.” He sat down on the garden bench, and patted the seat next to him. Automatically, James sat down. “So we don't have a lot in the way of resources. What we do have, however, is _you_.”

“Yeah, I know,” James said wearily. “I'm an Omega, you might just as well bring a frozen chicken along and it'd do a better job.”

“No. I have never believed that,” Harry said firmly. He gave a sudden snort of laughter. “And a frozen chicken, Jamie? Seriously?”

James gave a quick smile. Even in the circumstances, even with Teddy taken hostage, it was good to be having a proper conversation with his father. The sort they'd used to have, before this summer. And James knew that if Teddy wasn't precisely happy, he was in no imminent danger. He could feel that much.

“Well. You've been -”

“I've been an arse,” his dad said. “I'm sorry, Jamie. I was taken by surprise – I don't think any of us were expecting you to be an Omega, and definitely not to be bonded at seventeen. I've coped very badly, and I apologise. We'll talk about it later, but for the moment our priority has to be Teddy.”

“Yeah.” James felt a wave of longing and need for his bonded-Alpha sweep through him. He caught Dad looking at him, and was embarrassed: he had a feeling that his emotions weren't precisely subtle when it came to Teddy. “Sorry,” he apologised.

“Don't be. I love your mother to bits, but I don't think anyone who isn't in one can understand what an Alpha-Omega bond is like,” Harry said quietly. “And I didn’t realise an Omega even _could_ speak to an Alpha the way you spoke to me just now,” he added.

James hung his head. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be,” his father said again. “Any idiotic ideas I, or anyone else, might have had that Omegas were pushovers... let's say that's not a mistake I'm going to be making again. And I ought to have known you better than that anyway. However. You think you know where Teddy is being held?”

“I... yeah. I can't tell you,” James explained, “it's not like that. But I could take you there. It's like... I can trace him. God, I'm a bloody sniffer dog, aren't I? Great. And I thought I'd reached the bottom rung before, being an Omega. Now it turns out I'm nothing more than a bloodhound.”

Harry chuckled. “I think you're a bit more than that. All right, you can get us close. I don't suppose your sixth sense Teddy-radar tells you how many people are holding him, anything like that?”

James shook his head regretfully. “No. I only know that he's okay at the moment. Nothing particularly strong coming through there, except a bit of anger.”

“That sounds like Teddy,” Harry agreed, with a touch of humour. “Taken prisoner by the biggest terrorist group in the country, and of all the emotions he could be feeling, he's just rather cross about it. Most people would be terrified.”

James bit his lip. The thought of Teddy being terrified was pretty hard to bear. But he _wasn't_ , James reminded himself firmly. James knew perfectly well that he wasn't. He would be able to feel it, and there was nothing of that.

“Right. Are you ready?” he asked instead.

Harry nodded. “Let me send an owl to Ron – he’ll work as back up, and I’ll attach a tracker to us so that he can follow – and then we’ll be off.”

*

Teddy was already wishing back ‘hungry and cross’. His kidnappers had only been in the room for a few minutes and he already knew that things were not good. Of course they’d wanted Teddy, having failed to get James. Because Teddy, as the _Prophet_ had announced on its front cover some months back, was bonded to James Sirius Potter. Which meant that they had the means of getting James into their hands. There was just one small thing lying in their way: Teddy’s agreement.

Teddy listened to them tell him precisely what they wanted of him, and wondered how in any world they had thought that he would agree to bring his Omega into this situation. His bonded fucking mate. Would they seriously give up their wives or husbands if it were them? And that relationship was nothing in comparison to the one between himself and James. On the other hand, he couldn’t help being horribly aware that to say any of this would have one simple outcome: his death. And quite apart from his own partiality to being alive, Teddy was actively terrified to think about what might happen to James if he did die. Bonded to someone else, presumably. Teddy felt a sick rage roll over him at the very thought. It was worse than the idea of James having bonded originally to another man. Now that they’d been together… James was _his_ and he would be no one else’s, and if that meant that Teddy had to find some damn way of staying alive to make sure of it, he bloody would.

So he sat, and listened to this group of pure-blood terrorists with an apparent good grace.

“See, you’re not important to us,” the leader explained.

Teddy wondered whether they knew that he was Harry’s godson. He decided not to ask – no need to offer ammunition.

“Okay,” he said neutrally.

“You could get us Potter’s kid, though, couldn’t you? He’s bonded to you.”

*

James and his father landed in a built up area, Harry slightly out of breath from the flying.

“Okay?” James asked him.

His dad gave him a look. “Just because I’m an old fart doesn’t mean -”

“He’s in there.” James indicated a building ahead of them. It looked just like any other one, except that there seemed to be a man lazing about just by the front entrance. A guard, presumably. “Second floor. I think.”

“Okay. We’ll listen in, see what they’ve got.”

James’s father pulled out a fifth generation Extendable Ear. They were stringless now, and with the help of a levitation charm could be encouraged into any position. Dad muttered something, and one Ear slithered up to the window at the second floor. There was a sort of crunching noise as it settled itself, and then words.

 _“You could get us Potter's kid, though, couldn't you? He's bonded to you.”_ A stranger’s voice. Sharp, authoritative.

 _“I could.”_ James jumped. That was Teddy. He felt his heart start thumping at a million miles an hour at the sound of his Alpha’s voice. He’d wondered several times whether he’d ever hear it again. Teddy. Oh, Teddy.

Teddy continued to speak. _“But what would be the point? He's nothing. He's an Omega.”_

_“He's Potter's kid.”_

_“Come on,” Teddy said, “you must have heard. Since James presented, his father doesn't give a damn. He's not interested in a weakling like that. I walked out because of it. That's got to be common knowledge.”_

Despite himself, James took a look at his father. Harry's face was grim.

_“Yeah, and why did it matter to you?” came a deep voice._

_“Didn't,” Teddy said, breathlessly. “Why I could leave. There's nothing – fuck...”_ James heard Teddy take a rather desperate gasp of air. _“N-nothing to Omegas except sex and babies, you know that. Unless you – fuck.” A stifled cry._

“They're torturing him, Dad.” James could feel it, almost as if it were happening to himself.

“Yes.” His father shook himself. “Whatever lies he's telling about you, Jamie... Hold on.” Dad's green eyes were really freakily like Al's, James thought suddenly. There was a sudden glint in them, just like Al got when he'd come up with a really dubious plan. “Your Teddy... quite the politician, isn't he?” he said slowly. “Just enough truth – or what his captors will think is truth...”

_“Unless you what?” Teddy's torturer probed._

_“Good... sex,” Teddy insisted._

James was confused by what he was getting from the bond. Teddy was in pain; that much was all too obvious. But the other thing... protection. Protection of what? Hardly of him, James thought. Sex and babies. Weak. So much for Teddy's “you're stronger than you know” spiel. Yet it was still his Teddy, and he needed him. James bit his lip. Weak. Teddy was right.

_“He could be lying,” one voice said._

_“He could,” another agreed. “One easy way to find out.”_

_“Yeah.” There was a smug satisfaction in the first voice. “Let's.”_

_“Go on.”_

_“_ Crucio _.”_

_Teddy screamed._

James doubled up in pain for a second, and his dad grabbed his arm.

“Jamie,” he said urgently.

“Yes. Yeah. Fuck. Dad, we need to...”

“Yes.” Harry looked serious. “Jamie, he's lying for you. I knew – you bonded. But Teddy...”

“He...”

“Doesn't believe a word of what he's saying. Surely you can feel it, if I know it?” his dad said.

_“I swear, I swear...” Teddy's voice, high with agony. “Don't you think I'd tell you? Give him up? But you'd get nowhere, Harry wouldn't care. I... I'm more valuable than James. He's nothing.”_

“Dad, I...” James said.

“Yes. Come on.” Harry indicated the broom. “You take that. Window up there. I'll leave a sign for Ron, and aim for the front. We'll get him, James.”

James clambered onto the broom, leaving the second Extendable Ear with his father. He would have to guess what was going on for the moment, not hear it. But he’d heard enough. Teddy was being tortured. The Unforgivable Curses. James had heard talk of them, but to hear them used – and on Teddy – that was a different thing altogether. He tried not to think about what Teddy had been saying. His father had said that Teddy didn’t believe it, but James wasn’t so sure. Last time they’d met, at Teddy’s rooms, Teddy had dragged him into bed without much finesse. Perhaps James really was only good for fucking and… and why was he even thinking about this now?

His fingers clung to the smooth, polished wood of the broom, and he bent close to the handle. He needed to get close to the house first, and then make a quick dart upwards. The window was only open a little, but enough. As long as no one saw him. They'd have people looking, though, surely? Except who would think that one idiot on a broom with a Disillusionment charm would think they could take on a houseful of terrorists? They'd be looking for something bigger, something more.

James could feel the wind in his hair, smoothing through it. A gentle breeze, not enough to do more than fizz against his skin. The broom didn't notice a thing; the balance was perfect. Almost perfect, anyway – the Disillusionment charm sent it off a little bit, as charms always did. It wouldn’t matter for something easy like this. And James was at home in the air, maybe more than he was on the ground. He noticed his Uncle Ron Apparating down below – excellent, Dad would have company for the front attack. James knew that would be the harder role, except… except…

Now he looked at the window, its positioning was awkward. And – bloody fuck, they must still have the Cruciatus curse on Teddy. James could feel that his Alpha was in agony. He remembered tales he’d been told, about Professor Longbottom’s parents, and felt sick. The window was… he _could_ get to it, but not with the Disillusionment charm on him. Thank god he could fly, because the manoeuvre he’d have to perform to get the broom there and steady enough to allow him through was not something, James knew, that many people would be able to perform. Hoping his dad wouldn’t kill him for lifting the charm, he spelled it off himself and kicked up.

Straight up, curving under the frame and then curving round, almost hanging off the broom in mid-air as he twisted his body to raise his head and wand arm above the slightly-open window.

“He’s telling the truth,” James heard one man say, above the gasping breaths of Teddy. “No one would carry on this long if they were lying. Not with your skill with the Cruciatus.”

“Yeah, but this is fun. _Crucio_ ,” said another.

Teddy screamed, and James had murder in his heart. Torturing Teddy was this man’s idea of _fun_? His wand pointing through the small gap in the window, he summoned up all of his magic. Intent, his father had once told him, could mean a great deal – and James meant this like nothing on earth.

“ _Stupefy._ ”

It had to be aimed. Everyone knew that. The wand had to be pointed at a specific target. It was impossible, therefore, what happened. Utterly impossible.

James's voice rang out, and all three men surrounding Teddy dropped to the ground. James pushed the window open further, rolling gracelessly off his broom and through the gap. He barely heard his Uncle Ron's softly spoken, “Bloody _hell_ ,” coming from the doorway. All of James's attention was on Teddy. The Cruciatus curse must have been lifted with its deliverer’s unconsciousness, but Teddy was still lying, twitching, on the floor. His robes were torn, and his hair was damp with sweat. He was giving small moans, and all James could feel from their bond was the pain.

“Teddy!”

The captors were forgotten; Dad and Uncle Ron were meaningless. James's entire attention was on Teddy as he skittered clumsily across the floor of the room to Teddy's side. He hesitated there, not sure how much to touch, how much damage he might do his boyfriend by accident. Teddy's face was wet – sweat? Tears? Both? - but he looked up at James, and twisted his mouth in what was trying to be a smile.

“What's – a nice boy like you – doing in a – place like this?” he panted out.

“God. God. Are you okay? Stupid question, course you're not. Fuck, Teddy, I was so scared.” Words were babbling out of James's mouth. “I -”

“Just apparently took on a terrorist group single-handedly,” Teddy said weakly, scrabbling to try and sit up a little. “Geez...” He winced in pain as he moved. “Jamie, are you -”

“No, no,” James said vaguely. “Dad, Ron.” He flapped a hand. “Never mind that, Teddy -”

“Never mind that?” Ron looked up from where he and Harry had put all three men in full Body Binds, preparatory for arrest. “James, do you have any idea what you just did? Harry, do you have any idea what your son just _did_?”

“As Teddy just put it, he took on a terrorist group single-handedly,” Harry said dryly. “Ron, James, Teddy, priorities. We need to get out of here. There are two more Stunned and Bound downstairs, but Pure Life consists of more than five members. I've alerted the MLE and the Aurors, and people will be here shortly to collect the prisoners. Ron, if you could stay guard, I need to take James and Teddy – well, Teddy needs to go to St Mungo's -”

“I really don't,” protested Teddy, but his voice was weak and James could feel that his Alpha was in pain and trembling still in the aftermath of his torture.

“St Mungo's,” Harry said firmly, “and I very much doubt my chances of making James go anywhere but where Teddy is, so if anyone needs any of us, Ron, tell them that's where we'll be. As for James's apparent ability to do something at seventeen that nobody in the entire Auror Corps can do, believe me, we will be discussing that later. But now...”

“Yes. Yes. Course,” Ron agreed, looking a bit embarrassed. “Sorry. Teddy, are you all right?”

“I've been better,” Teddy admitted ruefully, sweat still beading on his forehead. “But yes. And – thanks.”

“Thank James,” advised Ron, still looking at James with a rather shell-shocked air.

“I am. I do.” Teddy reached out and took James's hand in his, squeezing it gently.

“St Mungo's,” Harry said again. “James, if you Apparate... oh,” he said frowning, “you can't. That's ridiculous. You can take on a group of adult wizards alone, but you're not allowed to Apparate.”

“Tell me about it,” James said under his breath.

“Right. I'll have to try and Side-Along the pair of you, which may make for a bumpy ride,” Harry warned. “Teddy, I'm afraid this won't be the most comfortable thing for you in your present state, but...”

James frowned. “If it's going to hurt him, take him and come back for me. Or I'll fly, meet you there.” He glanced across at his father. “No regulations about Omegas flying – yet,” he said dryly.

“I'll be fine,” Teddy said.

James was torn. He hated the thought of being separated from Teddy, even for a second, but if it was going to hurt him... His father gave him no choice. Taking James's arm in his, and wrapping his other arm around Teddy, they were gone, landing in St Mungo's waiting area with a pop a few seconds later.

*

Teddy was allowed home the following day. Thanks, in main, to James, he hadn't had to put up with too many hours of torture. Of course, as James pointed out to him – Teddy had been embarrassed to discover that Harry and James had heard some portion of his conversation with the kidnappers – he could have gone through considerably less torture if he'd just given James up in the first place. As if there had ever been any chance of that happening.

Before he left St Mungo's, though, Harry caught him for a brief but important conversation.

“Teddy, I want to apologise for my behaviour this summer.”

That was the thing about Harry: once he decided on something, he didn't hold back on sharing it. Teddy liked this considerably more in the current circumstances than he had when they had argued.

“It doesn't matter.”

“Yes,” said Harry firmly, “it does. I don't suppose the excuse that I was worried both about James and about Pure Life really goes a long way to defending the way I was behaving, but...” He sighed. “Look, I'm not an idiot – however much I may have been acting like one. I'll admit I was thrown by James being an Omega, and the way it affected me. I've not had a lot of experience with Omegas in the past, and those I have seen I've met on a professional level, and...”

“Harry, you don't have to explain yourself,” Teddy said, suddenly wondering whether he was quite as much stronger as he had believed.

“You're angry with me, understandably,” Harry said.

“You saved my life, Harry,” Teddy pointed out. “I don't think I'm in a position to criticise.”

“James did,” Harry said, with a quick smile. “As Ron will tell you, more times than you care to listen – if my experience is anything to go by, anyway. It was also my fault you were taken in the first place. They were after my son.”

“James is...” Teddy stopped, and bit back the words.

“I know he's more than 'my son', yes. But that's why they attacked you.” Harry looked sad. “I can't get used to, nor forgive myself for, people getting hurt because of me. You'd think after all these years... But that's another matter. I'm sorry for it. But I'm also sorry that because of my stress about Pure Life, and – well, my lack of understanding, I did not react to you and James well. To be honest, Teddy, I could see the way James felt – feels – about you, and it disturbed me. Especially because you – well. I didn't realise... quite how much you cared. And, you're right, I underestimated James, which was unforgivable. I'm his father and I should have known better. Hearing you protect him under torture... I had already realised how wrong I was about Jamie, and I misjudged you, too. You're as good as a son to me – you always have been.” Teddy felt a lump in his throat at this. He looked down. “I'm sorry, Teddy,” Harry finished.

“It doesn't...”

Teddy choked suddenly, and couldn’t finish the sentence. Harry had been a father figure to him, but the older man had never told him before that he felt that Teddy was a son. It _did_ matter, and yes, maybe Teddy still wasn't feeling quite as well as normal because he had an awful feeling he was going to start crying in a moment. Harry reached out and put his arms around him, and Teddy leaned into the touch.

“Oh, Teddy,” his godfather sighed softly into his hair. “You must have known that.”

Teddy's parents had left their baby son and gone to fight for a cause, never to return. His grandmother had been kind but distant – perhaps because of all she'd lost in her life. Teddy found it hard to take any affection for granted. Harry patted his back, as if he were ten years old, and Teddy told himself ferociously to get a grip. His godfather laughed, unexpectedly.

“What?” Teddy asked, disconcerted.

“I don't know what you were just thinking, Ted, but your hair went an interesting shade of maroon,” Harry said, letting go and smiling. “I thought you had control over that.”

“I do – usually,” Teddy said ruefully, grateful that the tears were at least retreating from his eyes. “Sorry. I don't think I'm quite on top form yet.”

“Don’t tell the Healers – I think they’ve just about agreed to let you come home,” Harry said. “At least,” he hesitated, “if you are all right coming back to ours? I know that things were… well -”

“That’s in the past,” Teddy said quickly.

“It’s just, I don’t think they’ll let you out to your own rooms, even if James is there to look after you.” Harry frowned. “Partly because James is – James, of course,” he said; and Teddy was pleased to hear the bitterness in his voice. “But we’d love to have you.”

“Thanks, Harry. That’d be great.”

“Really?” Harry ran a hand through his ruffled grey-and-black hair, and gave Teddy a beaming smile. “That’s fantastic. I’ll go and talk to Head Healer Mullato now.”

~

Someone caught a photo of James flying to Teddy’s rescue, and it made the front page of the _Prophet_. They only just got out of St Mungo’s in time, before it became filled with journalists wanting to ask Teddy his side of the story. Teddy was both humiliated and in a state where he wanted to tell the world how incredible his boyfriend was. Perhaps then they’d stop writing shit about Omegas, but he doubted it. It was too deeply ingrained. Harry, however, hated the press with a fervency worthy of a better cause. His snapped “No comment,” to the one journo who caught them was ferocious enough to have even the seasoned professional wincing back for a second.

Nonetheless, Teddy found himself staring at the paper over and over again. It had been a stupendous piece of flying from James, even before the ridiculously strong spellwork. His boyfriend was quite scarily talented.

And also acting slightly peculiarly. Almost avoiding Teddy. At least, that wasn’t quite true, but Teddy could feel that James was holding something back. When Teddy was ensconced in Harry and Ginny’s house, James spent plenty of time with him – but there were always other people around. Lovely Lily, fussing over Teddy and wanting to get him everything in the world. Al, making teasing remarks and making Teddy laugh more than he’d done for ages. Harry was working a lot, trying to deal with the fallout from their unofficial raid. The _Prophet_ had made a lot of the fact that it seemed that a civilian had done most of the rescue whilst the Aurors Potter and Weasley just stood and watched. Though in the next paragraph, doubt had been cast on the ability of James to do anything at all. How the paper reconciled the two, Teddy wasn’t quite sure. Ginny was working, but found time to sit and chat, tease almost as much as Albus, and offer drinks and food in a way reminiscent of her mother. It was nice, but Teddy wanted some time alone with James. He was sleeping in a transfigured bed in Harry’s study, thanks to the after-effects of the Cruciatus curse which meant that he was still struggling with pain at night-time, so sharing a bed was out. And he’d hoped James would spend some time with him in there, but James had smiled at him and gone back to his own room alone.

~

A day later, Teddy finally worked out how to get hold of James. Or, if truth be told, he’d known all along. It was just – difficult. But he’d had enough.

“James,” he said firmly, “I want to talk to you. Alone.”

James looked at him for a few moments and then looked away and nodded.

“’K. Awkward,” muttered Albus, who had been in the room at the time, standing up rather hastily.

Teddy flicked him a look. “We’re going to James’s room,” he said, as firmly as if he hadn’t just decided that on the spur of the moment. “Keep everyone else out, could you please?”

“Sure. Sure.” Al hitched a smile at them. “Cos I’m sure you don’t know locking and silencing spells, obviously. But yeah. I take the hint.”

“Al? Thanks,” Teddy said quietly, smiling back.

He nodded. “Make it worth it.”

It seemed that Teddy hadn’t been the only one noticing the awkwardness between himself and James.

Teddy nodded. “I intend to.”

“Don’t mind me, either of you, will you?” James said dryly; and Teddy was more happy than he could possibly have described to hear James sounding so much like his normal self.

“I’m off,” Al said hastily, basely leaving Teddy to it.

Teddy flicked an amused glance after him, and then turned to James. “Well, shall we?” he suggested. “Your room?”

James sighed. “Yeah.” He hesitated. “Need a hand?” he asked, half-unwillingly.

Teddy wasn’t sure whether the unwillingness was because James didn’t want to have anything to do with him right now or from an understanding of how much Teddy was hating having to ask people for help at the moment. Either way, his pride wouldn’t allow him to accept.

“I’m fine.”

“’Course you are.”

The words were muttered under James’s breath, but loud enough that Teddy could hear and wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to have heard or not. He followed James slowly up the stairs. Once inside James’s room, Teddy collapsed with more speed than grace onto the bed. He hated how weak he still was. Yes, he’d been tortured – but compared to what Harry and his generation had gone through in the war, this was nothing. 

Biting back an exclamation of pain, he looked up and James and said quietly, “What’s wrong?”

“You’re not fine,” James said in return. “Too proud to take help from someone as weak as me?”

His chin was lifted, and his gaze steady, but Teddy could feel the edge of hurt that James was trying to hide.

“I’ve never thought you were weak,” Teddy said. He’d thought they were over this, but… Oh. _Oh._ “Oh, Jamie, you never thought I meant it?” he said softly.

“Why wouldn’t you?” James asked, his voice equally quiet.

Quiet, and full of self-loathing. Even now, even after he had performed magic beyond the capabilities of anyone in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Teddy thought disbelievingly. Fuck, what had happened to James in the months since he showed as an Omega? Because this was nothing like the James Potter Teddy had known before. Mind you, Teddy had always suspected that a lot of James’s apparently arrogant self-confidence was a cloak thrown over himself to keep his most private thoughts precisely that. But that James could ask the question at all… Teddy was horrified. And his horror kept him silent for a few seconds.

James smiled wryly, misjudging Teddy’s feelings. “Precisely.”

“Er, no, James.” James raised an eyebrow at Teddy. “No.”

“Twenty seconds ago, that’d’ve been much more convincing, you know,” James said conversationally, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Twenty seconds ago, I was still trying to get my head around the fact that someone who had just shown himself to be one of the most powerful wizards in Britain would be asking why I wouldn’t consider him weak,” Teddy retorted.

James took a few seconds to work through that. “I… you...”

“Have you listened to your Uncle Ron at all in the past few days?” Teddy asked. He gave a sudden smile. “Because Harry says he can’t get away from being told how brilliant you are.” Teddy was amused at James’s blush.

“That’s just Ron, though,” James mumbled.

“No. No, it’s not, and you know it,” Teddy challenged him. “And I suppose the next thing you’ll be thinking is that you heard me saying you were weak _before_ you saved my life – and don’t be in two minds about it, you did save my life. Even if they hadn’t decided to kill me, you know as well as I do what the Cruciatus curse can do – and some of the other things they’d already cast on me were pain-enhancing spells.” He flushed as James stared hard at him. “Yeah, okay, I do have too much pride to ask for help and I need to get over myself,” he acknowledged.

“Pain-enhancing and then… It fucking hurt second hand,” James said unexpectedly.

He had been able to feel it? That link, Teddy thought ruefully. They really were soul-bonded, weren’t they?

“Anyway,” he said, anxious to get off the subject of being tortured. “Jamie… I swear my only thought was to say anything that would keep you out of their hands. I swear.”

James swallowed suddenly, looking vulnerable and young. He was only seventeen, Teddy reminded himself, no matter how mature and – well, _perfect_ he was in so many other ways.

“‘No good for anything except fucking and babies,’” James said.

“How could you think I meant that?”

“When you left...” James couldn’t meet his eyes. “That short note. Then, when I visited, you just...we...”

Teddy suddenly hated himself. The moment James had come through that Floo, his brain had been addled by having his boyfriend – his soul-mate, and yes, all right, his _Omega_ \- that close after several days apart. James was right. He’d done precisely what someone who only cared for their bond-mate in terms of sex would do.

“I shouldn’t have… God, Jamie, do you know what you do to me?” Fuck, the push towards tears that the torture had left him with had returned. Teddy gritted his teeth firmly. He would not start crying, for Merlin’s sake. “I’m sorry,” he said. “The letter – I didn’t want Harry reading anything too personal, but – but ‘Yours’ meant something, James. I meant it. And I had so many good intentions about seeing you, and then… fuck.”

There was a slight smile on James’s face. “Well, yes,” he agreed. “I noticed that bit.”

“Jamie,” Teddy said. “I want you now. I want you always. If I had half the energy I wish for… But it doesn’t mean that I don’t value you in other ways just as much. More. James Sirius Potter. Look at me.” He waited for James to meet his gaze. “I have never, ever, thought you weak,” he said steadily. Teddy dropped his own eyes. “And have you never thought that I might have my own areas of shame?” he mumbled.

He hadn’t thought he’d ever speak about this to anyone, let alone to James. But perhaps he needed to. Maybe it was important that his own imperfections were put on as plain view as James felt his were. At any rate, between the two of them there should be no secrets. Teddy was more and more sure about that.

“You do?” James stared at him. “I’m the one who...” He broke off.

“I’m sleeping with a student, James,” Teddy said bluntly. “If it weren’t for the circumstances, I’d not only lose my job but have precious little chance of ever getting another. I’m a teacher – a male teacher – in a relationship with a seventeen year old boy.” James’s mouth fell a little bit open. “Oh,” Teddy added, “and then there’s the fact that I like to pin my young boyfriend down and bite him. Fuck him with a knot big enough that he was left needing pain potions after our first encounters. And yet I’ve still done it again. And again. Even when I’ve seen him limping afterwards. I might have a few demons from that, don’t you think?”

“But… I want you to. I always want you to,” James whispered.

Teddy smiled at him sadly. “You don’t have much choice, given that we’re bonded,” he pointed out.

“That was me, too.”

“That was a seventeen year old Omega in his first heat, half out-of-it with all the hormones rushing through his body. As I recall” - and Teddy _did_ recall, in guilty, explicit detail - “the first words out of your mouth after heat were ‘What the hell have you done, Teddy?’”

James grasped Teddy’s arm hard. “I didn’t know,” he said urgently. “I didn’t realise you thought that. Teddy, I love you. So much. I couldn’t bear – not to be yours. Didn’t you know that?” He gave a sudden shudder. “Quite apart from the fact I’d have been raped within twenty-four hours if you hadn’t.”

“There ought to have been an answer which did not involve you being raped either by me or by a couple of Sixth Years,” Teddy said grimly.

“Is this my punishment?” James asked, his voice very low, his head bowed.

“I don’t understand.”

“For not trusting you.”

“Jamie?” Teddy said, confused.

“Hearing you speak about yourself like that. It _hurts_ , Teddy.” James looked up, and his eyes really were filled with tears. “You didn’t r -” he cut off the word, as if he couldn’t bear to say it. “You – I… Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that.”

Teddy pulled James into his arms, more roughly than he intended. “Don’t you understand that I feel like that about you, Jamie?” he said softly, wiping the tears away with a gentle, shaking finger. “You’re my world. How could I ever think you weak?”

James was crying now, and Teddy didn’t care about the discomfort as he held him close against his body. He needed this. They both needed this. James pressed against him, weeping without restraint, and Teddy knew his own eyes were leaking tears into James’s hair. They sat like that for some time, until James sniffed, and drew back, wiping his eyes.

“Sorry,” he said, his voice wobbly.

“Me too,” Teddy said quietly. “I don’t think anyone really knows how awful it’s been for you, James, not even me. But never doubt me. Never doubt how I feel about you, and never, ever, think that I believe you’re weak.”

James gave a shaky laugh. “Way to prove I’m not, eh? Blubbering like a baby all over you.”

“Crying doesn’t make you weak.” Teddy leaned back and smiled at his boyfriend. “At least, I hope not, since I’ve been bawling on and off since you rescued me. Including just now, in case you didn’t notice. So. Are you ready to believe me now?”

James leaned his head on Teddy’s shoulder. Teddy knew that James liked the reassurance of a physical connection, and if truth be told, Teddy wasn’t precisely averse to it himself. He kissed the top of James’s head.

“Yeah,” said James. “I think maybe I am.”

*

Teddy didn’t think he was weak.

It was weird the amount of difference that knowing – genuinely knowing – that made to James. What with that, and Dad being normal again, and Uncle Ron treating him like he was the best thing since sliced bread (which, James had to admit secretly to himself, was rather ego-boosting, even if it was a little bit embarrassing)… for the first time, James was okay with being an Omega.

Well, not okay, precisely. He still resented it – all the rules and regulations. Quite apart from the fact that he really did ‘belong’ to Teddy in the eyes of the law, there were all the other things which went along with it. He couldn’t own anything, so his owl, Jeremy, was now theoretically Teddy’s. He knew that his N.E.W.T. results were almost irrelevant, since no one was going to give an Omega a job anyway. He wasn’t even allowed to Apparate (he’d had his bloody licence, and it had been revoked, for Merlin’s sake! Or, to be precise, they hadn’t even bothered to revoke it. He was an Omega: he almost didn’t exist in the eyes of the Ministry, except as Teddy’s possession.). So yeah, all of that sucked bigtime. But sometimes, in the privacy of their own home, James could almost forget all of that. Now that no one was treating him like the biggest loser around, he was beginning to feel comfortable in his own skin again, for the first time in months. He could mess around with Al and Lily, and sometimes his cousins; could enjoy being fussed over by his mum and having chats with his dad. Hell, he could spend time with Teddy just playing around – actually getting to enjoy having a boyfriend, without it being all hedged around with all the complications which had been there all the time before.

James tried not to be melodramatic, and it wasn’t in his nature to do anything but just ‘get on with things’, but he couldn’t help realising, now that things were different, that he’d almost never been truly content and relaxed since his change. He’d had moments of the most intense joy possible, but the few hours in Hogsmeade had really been the only time that he’d been at peace. Now, he had that. He knew it was just a break – a few peaceful weeks before the return to Hogwarts and all of the strain and disparagement that would bring – but that only made him the more determined to enjoy what he had.

He was certainly not expecting what happened next. The doorbell went, and Dad went to answer it, his face cautious. Family tended to use the Floo; if someone was coming to the front door, that meant a stranger. It couldn’t be one intent on violence – James’s father’s wards made sure that no one could get that close to the house with that sort of thing in mind – but it didn’t mean that the visitor would be welcome.

“Hello?” Harry said curtly.

From what James could see from his position halfway down the stairs, there was a tall, dark man standing at the front door, a briefcase in his hand. His father had carefully placed himself so that the stranger could see as little of the inside of the house as possible, which unfortunately also had the effect of meaning that James could see very little of the doorstep and the man thereon. Nonetheless, he could hear well enough.

“I was... well, I was hoping to speak to Mr James Potter,” the man said.

James stood rigid on the stairs at this, watching the way his father stood a little taller, a little more defensively.

“If you are a journalist...” his dad began.

“I'm not. Finlay Geremiah, of the Chudley Cannons,” the gentleman introduced himself.

James found himself leaning to one side, staring at the parts of the man he could see around his father. The manager of the Chudley Cannons was standing on the doorstep, wanting to speak to him?

“Oh.” Dad sounded as disconcerted as James felt, which was vaguely reassuring. “Er.”

“I saw the flying, on the front page of the _Prophet_ ,” Geremiah explained. “Very good. Very impressive. And – well, the scouts had been out at Hogwarts before... hmm, I imagine you know the rest of that sentence.”

“Before my son came of age,” James's dad said quietly.

“May I come in? Speak with him? And his Alpha, of course.”

“Indeed.” Harry stepped back. “Apologies for my cautiousness, Mr Geremiah. We have had a few issues with journalists, both recently and in the past. I'm afraid I may be a little overprotective of my family at times.”

“Understandable.” James could see the man now. He looked just like he did in the sports pages of the newspapers, which shouldn't be a surprise, of course, but somehow was. “Quite understandable in the circumstances. Anyway, if I could... Ah!” His gaze had met James's. “The man himself, I believe?”

James took a deep breath and descended the stairs, holding out a hand. “Hello. I'm James.”

“Yes, yes. Very pleased to meet you, young sir.”

The man was an Alpha. James could, of course, tell immediately. And presumably he was having the same immediate effect on Geremiah, but weirdly (and it was _very_ weird), Geremiah was still treating him like – well, like anyone else.

“Thanks.”

“Would you like to come in here? And, er, tea?” Harry asked.

James gave a small smile. He had forgotten how overcome his father could get in social situations. You'd think that the Saviour Of The Wizarding World would be good at this sort of thing, but somehow Dad always got nervous. It was kind of consoling to be reminded that his dad had faults, though less necessary than it had felt a couple of weeks ago, when all James felt like was a failure of a son. He bit his lip. He'd promised Dad not to think about that, and he was doing his best to keep to it.

“Splendid, splendid.”

Teddy was on the stairs now. James could sense him. He turned and smiled at his boyfriend.

“Sorry,” Teddy apologised. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“This is my... boyfriend, Teddy Lupin,” James said.

“Boyfriend.” Geremiah's eyes looked Teddy up and down. “Oh. Gracious, you're very young. Sorry, that was terribly impolite of me. I'd expected someone... Anyway. Delighted to meet you, Mr Lupin. I was just after a few words with your, er, your...?”

“Boyfriend,” Teddy finished for him, repeating James’s word with some emphasis.

Nonetheless, James was impressed with Geremiah. That had to be the first time ever someone had waited for Teddy's description, rather than immediately detailing James as 'Omega' or 'possession'.

“Quite. Very interesting,” Geremiah added, half under his breath. “And, Mr Potter, if your son and his boyfriend didn't mind, you would be welcome to join us.”

“Thank you.” James's dad looked enquiringly at James and Teddy – looking at James first, James noticed. It was still clearly an effort for him to do it that way around, but James appreciated the fact that his father was trying.

“Fine with me,” James said.

Twenty minutes later, James was in the rather disbelieving position of having been tentatively offered a contract with the Cannons for the following summer.

“You must, of course, finish your N.E.W.T.s first – though there are a few training weekends over the year for future recruits,” Geremiah said.

“Sir,” James said, knowing he must sound stupid, given how full the papers had been of the fact; given the fact that the man must surely know by instinct even if he’d never seen a paper in his life; “you do know I'm an Omega, right?”

Geremiah gave a little, embarrassed cough. “I'm afraid, young man, that it would be impossible for me to have missed that fact.”

“I just...” James swallowed, hating to say it. Hating to rain on his own fucking parade. “Don't think the club would... appreciate my presence.” Suddenly, he had sympathy for his father's lack of social skills – sometimes it was difficult to be polite whilst still making your point.

Germiah smiled at him. “I'm not here without the owner's permission,” he assured James. “The team will have to get used to it. I'm the manager, and believe me, I'm quite capable of managing.” He paused for a second. “As it happens,” he added, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling, “my brother is an Omega. I do not subscribe to the commonly held beliefs about your qualities. And the flying I saw on the front of the _Prophet_ is quite good enough to convince me that your... coming of age... has not affected your ability to sit a broom. Nor, from what the article says, does it seem that you have an inability to cope under pressure.”

“That,” Teddy said unexpectedly, “is certainly true.”

Geremiah looked at Teddy under deep brows. “Yes, so I heard. I feel sure you, young man, are in a particular position to know.” Teddy blushed; James wasn't sure whether it was at the 'particular position' part of the comment or the 'young man' bit. Either way, he would make sure to tease Teddy about it later. “As to the Cannons’ owner,” Geremiah added, “well, it does not hurt that you are Harry Potter's son.” He looked at James. “I am being quite honest, you see. I pointed out to him that in the event that you are, in fact, useless owing to your status – we might well, nonetheless, see increased attendances and greater sales of shirts in the time you are under contract. Sir Leggett is not a foolish man. He took my point.”

“Oh.” James wasn't sure how he felt about being a pathway to shirt sales, just because of Dad's fame.

“I, however,” Geremiah said, his gaze now fixing James (and, incidentally, making James realise why Geremiah's team would do precisely what he said: he was pretty sure it wasn't just an Omega thing), “would not employ anyone whom I did not feel was up to the job.” He gave a few more details and then opened his briefcase and produced a piece of paper. “I did bring along a contract, in the hope that there might be a willingness to proceed further. Obviously, this is not binding until it has been ratified by a solicitor, but a first signature would be a symbol of good will?”

“A contract?” James held his hand out for it, expectantly. “So… where would I sign, if it looked okay?”

Geremiah gave a small cough of embarrassment. “Erm, as you pointed out, you are an Omega,” he murmured apologetically.

“Yes. I… Oh.” James bit his lip hard and dropped his hand. Every time he thought he had got used to the myriad of humiliations linked to his status, another one blind-sided him. “I see.”

“Mr Lupin, if you would care to look over the contract?”

Geremiah held it out to Teddy, who took it automatically, but immediately handed it to James.

“Yours, Jamie,” he said.

James gave a tight smile. “Apparently not.”

Teddy’s hand went to his shoulder, gripping it hard and then massaging it with more gentleness.

“To be honest, you ought to give it to Harry,” he admitted. “He probably knows much more than either of us how these things are supposed to run.”

Nonetheless, James was already looking at the details. It was all in Teddy’s name, he saw. James himself wasn’t referred to by name at any point throughout the whole contract, despite the fact that he would be the one playing for the team. It was all ‘Mr Lupin’s Omega’ this, and ‘Mr Lupin agrees compensation for the use of his possession at the rate of’… His possession. James knew the law, but nonetheless seeing those two words was nearly enough to make James rip the damn thing up – except then his eyes caught sight of the figure written afterwards.

“Um, Dad,” James said, somewhat shell-shocked. “Could you have a look at this for me? Us?” he corrected himself.

“Of course.” His father read it through carefully, and James noticed no change in his facial expression as he did so, but he knew that Dad was good at covering up that sort of thing. Years of practice in the Aurors, he supposed. Finally, Harry nodded. “It looks good, so far as I can tell. I’d advise signing with precautions built in, though, until a solicitor has seen it.” He looked across at Geremiah. “I imagine that‘s standard practice?”

“In as much as this particular situation is standard practice,” the other man acknowledged. “Well, Mr Lupin? Mr Potter?”

“I haven’t looked at it, but if James wants me to sign it,” Teddy said pointedly, “and Harry thinks that it would be all right to do so, then I’ll sign it. Though I want to make it clear that I feel that it is James who should be doing so.”

“Otherwise known as ‘your possession’,” James muttered. The words still rankled.

Geremiah looked awkward, but he met Teddy’s eyes and then James’s. “Please understand, Mr Lupin – Mr Potter – that the language within the contract is unfortunately not within my remit to change. In order to make it legally binding, certain… formalities… need to be followed. Rest assured that I have no wish to insult my newest player.”

“James?” Teddy said again, and James loved him for the way he waited for explicit permission. He saw Teddy take a quick look over the contract, and wince at the wording; saw also the moment that Teddy’s eyes caught sight of that remarkable - _ridiculous_ \- sum. Teddy, it seemed, was not as good as Dad at hiding his expression.

“Yeah,” said James drily, amused by Teddy’s shock, “go on, then.”

Teddy took a pen in a suddenly shaky hand and scribbled a signature where Geremiah pointed out. There were a few minutes more of polite conversation before the manager of the Chudley Cannons took his leave, but finally James and Teddy stood facing each other as Harry saw the gentleman to the door.

*

Teddy’s head was spinning. His boyfriend had just signed for the Chudley Cannons. His boyfriend. Had just signed a contract with a professional Quidditch team. For, incidentally, an eye-watering amount of money.

Well, to be quite accurate, Teddy had signed the contract, about which he was hugely uncomfortable. And if signing it had been bad enough, the wording within it had been worse. Teddy was amazed that James could bring himself to agree to anything which referred to him as “Mr Lupin’s possession”, but perhaps after a term of being called (as Teddy had heard all too many times in the corridors at Hogwarts) “Lupin’s bitch”, James was more inured to it than Teddy himself felt he would have been. However, leaving that to one side – indeed, trying desperately to forget the appalling language set out in the contract – James was now not only a future professional Quidditch player (and on course to be the first Omega ever to play professional Quidditch) but an extremely rich man. From what Teddy had gleaned from his quick glance over, the equivalent of a year’s salary would be James’s even if he never played. Which, considering that he would be earning as much in a fortnight as Teddy did in a year at Hogwarts, was not an inconsiderable amount.

“Bloody hell,” Teddy said weakly, not quite sure how to begin to discuss the whole situation.

James had an expression on his face which Teddy loved: mischievous and amused. “Something bothering you, Ted?”

Teddy had stood up to shake hands with Mr Geremiah as he left. He collapsed back into a chair.

“You’re...”

And James’s face lit into total joy. “Signed to the Cannons,” he said, the grin spreading from side to side on his face.

“Rich! Famous! Brilliant.”

A slight shadow crossed James’s face. “Well, you’re rich,” he corrected.

Teddy winced. “I’m sorry, Jamie. I hate it too.”

“I know.” James collapsed at his feet and rubbed his cheek against Teddy’s thigh. “Not your fault. Anyway, it still stands. I’m bloody _signed_!”

Harry came back into the room at that moment, and the smile on his face almost rivalled James’s earlier one.

“Jamie, I’m so proud,” he said, leaning down and ruffling James’s hair.

Teddy could hear the sincerity in Harry’s tone – so different from the way he’d been speaking at the beginning of the holidays. He valued his son – the son he had, not the son he’d thought he had. He was valuing James, who was a wizard of talent beyond compare, a wonderful person, and a bloody amazing Quidditch player. And also, it turned out, an Omega. Slowly – at last – Harry had realised that the last cancelled out nothing about the rest.

“Thanks.” James was embarrassed, and Teddy didn’t need to be bonded to him to know it.

“Your mother will be worse,” Harry warned him. “She’ll be bouncing off the ceiling, James. As for Ron – especially with it being the Cannons...”

Teddy laughed. “You’ve just got your biggest fan there,” he said. “Second biggest,” he corrected. James was still sitting between his legs, and Teddy clamped his legs around him, bending to kiss the top of his head. “I’ll always be your biggest fan,” he murmured quietly.

It was great to see how pleased the family were. Ginny insisted on telling Ron at once, which meant that all of the Granger-Weasleys came round to join in the congratulations. Even un-sporty Hugo was impressed and pleased: Teddy suspected that the bookish Ravenclaw was all too aware how unusual it was for an Omega to be offered such a job.

Al was quietest, with an understated “Hey, not bad, bro!” Teddy felt a little disappointed in Al’s reaction, knowing that James had counted on him as his biggest support ever since his coming out (as it were). He wondered if Albus was jealous, and if he’d had a small amount of enjoyment in James being less than brilliant for a while; but he discovered his error that evening. James and he were sitting in James’s bedroom, to which Teddy was intending to return to sleep as of that night, when Al came in. He flung his arms around James in an expansive way which Teddy didn’t think he’d ever seen from blasé Albus before.

“Jamie, you’re bloody brilliant,” he declared; and Teddy was almost sure there was something like tears sparkling in Al’s eyes. “I’m so fucking proud of you it’s untrue.”

James returned the hug. “Thanks, mate. I owe you.” He disentangled himself. “Now shut up, you’re embarrassing Teddy.”

Al glanced over at the bed, noticing Teddy for the first time. “Oh. Shit,” he said, looking embarrassed himself. He gave Teddy a long hard stare. “You saw nothing. You heard nothing,” he said firmly, and Teddy laughed.

“Blind and deaf,” he assured Al. “Blind and deaf.”

Al put his hands on James’s arms again for a second. “Bloody brilliant,” he declared again, and left.

Teddy raised his eyebrows, and James grinned.

“He doesn’t want people to think he likes me, you know,” he explained.

“Potters.” Teddy shook his head. “I’ll never understand you.”

~

“I’ve kind of been thinking...” James sat in Teddy’s rooms three days later. “About – after next year. How it’s going to work – us, and the Quidditch, and...” He trailed off.

“Yes.” Teddy had been waiting for this conversation. He’d had time to make some decisions over the past three days. Fairly major ones. “Me too.”

“Oh good.” James smiled sheepishly. “I hope you’ve got further than me, because I’m just still wondering. I mean, if you’re going to be in Scotland, and I’m going to be in Chudley…”

“I’m resigning from Hogwarts,” Teddy said quietly.

James’s mouth dropped open in almost comic fashion. “What?”

Teddy shrugged. “Teaching is fine, but it’s not a vocation, not for me. I nearly took a job offer from Hermione, you know, back when I ended up at Hogwarts. You know the work I did on werewolf reform as her intern when I was doing the Transfig training? She suggested I work in her department. But Minerva – Headmistress McGonagall to you – had given me so much support that I felt like I had to go into teaching. I’ve not regretted it, either, but it’s not the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. Too much to hope there’s still a job going with Hermione, but I’ve got a year to find something.” He grinned. “Anyway, it doesn’t altogether matter if it takes longer still. I can be your kept man, the amount you’ll be earning.”

“But Ted, you can’t...” James trailed off, waved a hand around helplessly.

Teddy put a hand to his bond-mate’s face. “I can’t be separated from you for long periods at a time,” he said, looking into James’s deep brown eyes and falling in love with him all over again. “We both know that. If I keep the job, that’s what will happen – and it can’t.”

“Then I should -”

“You,” Teddy interrupted him, “should be the Quidditch star you deserve to be.” He was amused to see James blush a little at this, but continued to speak. “Not only because it matters much more to you than teaching does to me, but because of what it means for Omegas in general. If you must know, I’m intending to use what I learned working with Hermione on the werewolf reforms to work towards new legislation for us. For Omegas. I always thought werewolf laws were bad, but...” He sighed. “Anyway, you know all that. None better, eh?” He gave James a swift kiss.

“You’d do that – for me?”

“Jamie, I’d do anything for you,” Teddy said simply. “I’m yours.”

“But you can’t.” James’s voice was wistful. “Teddy, I – I’m nothing. You know that. I’m -” He broke off and gave a little hopeless shrug, his shoulders sagging.

If Teddy had had any doubts about his decision to work towards a change in legislation, James’s attitude would have banished them. That his incredible, beyond talented boyfriend-soul-mate-lover could still – still, after everything – rate himself so poorly….

“James,” he said roughly, “look at me and tell me that you believe I think you’re nothing. That I think you’re weak.”

James looked up at him, and Teddy heard the little gasp as he finally - _finally_ \- saw the truth, written in Teddy’s face; felt it through the bond.

“You don’t...” he murmured, his voice awed; and Teddy almost laughed, because for the first time, he’d stopped James Potter from talking. 

“No.” Teddy kept his gaze on James’s. “We both do it. Feel ashamed of who we are and what we’re like. Not just the work, our whole relationship. We pretend we don't want... what we want... because we're ashamed. Maybe... maybe we should just give into it, accept that this is what we're like. If it's what we both want, we're doing nothing wrong.

“Trust each other. I know you’re not weak. You know that. And if we can’t trust each other – you used magic stronger than the Aurors have and saved my life; I now know that I’ll go through torture for you – then who can we trust?”

“You mean...”

“Instead of fighting it with everything we’ve got, what if we accept it?” Teddy said simply. He looked into James’s eyes. “I don’t want to pin you down and fuck you because I want to hurt you,” he said softly. “I want to do it because it feels right, because I think you want it, need it, even – because you’re mine. Do you hate me for it?”

“No! Teddy...” James sought his mouth pleadingly. They kissed for long moments before James pulled away. “You know I don’t… don’t you?”

“And you know that I’m never, ever, going to think that you’re weak.”

Teddy’s gaze was long and true. He wanted James to feel it. To know what he was saying so deeply that it was scored into his very soul. Everything he’d heard about Omegas was giving him one sort of information, and it was wrong. It was so, so wrong. Teddy wanted to show him the truth. About Omegas. About himself. About _them_.

“Yes.” James slid to his knees. “Please, Teddy.”

“Please?” Teddy asked, needing to be totally certain of his lover’s feelings.

“Please. Do what you want with me. Tell me what you want.”

The look in James’s face was the most beautiful thing Teddy had ever seen.

*

“Do what you want with me. Tell me what you want.”

James had never felt so at peace, so _happy_. He was on his knees in front of Teddy – willingly, with all of himself willing to be there – and it felt right. He chose this. _Chose_ it. He was offering everything up to Teddy, knowing that Teddy could be trusted with it; that what he was with Teddy was more than he could ever be without him. And he knew that the same was true for Teddy also. James could feel his magic intertwining with Teddy’s, wrapping around them. It danced in the air, tingling against his skin, seductive, euphoric.

Teddy waved his hand, and James’s clothes vanished. A degree of magic James had never realised Teddy had. The power surrounded him and he shivered, kneeling naked at Teddy’s feet. Bowed but unbroken – anything but broken: remade into something much more.

“You know what to do.” Teddy’s deep voice travelled through him, sending blood surging to James’s cock.

“Alpha,” he murmured, nuzzling against Teddy’s crotch, feeling the growing hardness there, smelling his partner’s arousal. The word meant something different, something bigger, than it had ever done before. There would be no other Alpha, not like this, not for James.

James’s hands went to Teddy’s flies, opening his trousers. He looked up, to meet Teddy’s hot, hard gaze staring back at him. His fingers trembled as he freed Teddy’s cock and put his lips to it.

“That’s right,” Teddy said. The love which was clear in the air, in the magic surrounding them, pooled in his words. Molten silver, heating, burning James. “I’ll teach you to take my cock so well, Jamie; so deep. You want me to pull your hair, fuck myself into your mouth. I’ll do that for you.”

James was so hard already. So hard, listening to Teddy make promises in that dark, deep, heated voice of his. He moaned around Teddy’s prick, swirling his tongue around its velvet tip. Teddy rocked his hips, but gently, slowly. James knew that in the future there would be more; that Teddy would do this harder, ruthlessly, until James was close to choking. He knew that he would adore every second. He could not speak to plead, but he sent the feeling through their connection and knew the moment Teddy received it, his motions getting stronger.

“Fuck, James, you’re being so good. So good for me.”

James ran his hands up Teddy’s legs, trying to resist the urge to touch himself. He knew he’d come in seconds if he did; and he hadn’t his Alpha’s permission. He wanted to give everything up to Teddy, allow him control of it all. Teddy’s hands tangled in his hair, and he ran his nails over James’s scalp, making James moan low in his throat with the sensation. Then Teddy was pulling away.

“Teddy?”

But James did not need to ask whether he had done something wrong. The magic which bound them together was guiding him, and he knew Teddy wanted more, not less.

“Yes, Jamie. You’re going to lie down and spread your legs for me. Let me hold you down and fuck you till you beg.”

James felt himself thrust his hips against nothing, shamelessly turned on by Teddy’s words. His breath whined out of him as he crawled towards the bed.

“Oh Jamie,” Teddy said softly, leaning down and hauling him onto the waiting bed. “You’re so fucking gorgeous, you know that? My James. My James.”

The possessive note sent shivers through James, his skin tingling as if Teddy had run his fingers all over him at once. Teddy’s mouth was against his, lips firm and demanding; relentless. No gentle soft kisses, not this time. Teddy was owning him, and James was so willing to be owned.

“Please, please,” he found himself saying when Teddy drew his mouth away.

“Please what?” murmured Teddy, pulling James close so that James was aware of the brush and tug of Teddy’s clothing; the fact that Teddy was almost fully dressed whilst James was totally nude. “You’re going to learn to ask, Jamie.”

James felt his skin flushing with extra heat. He could not be self-conscious, not with Teddy; but the thought of begging for what he wanted was erotic, flames on flames.

“I want to touch you. Please, Teddy.”

“Undress me, then.”

James’s fingers trembled against the buttons on Teddy’s shirt as he unfastened them. He could feel Teddy’s gaze on him, watching; the merest whisper of fingers through his hair. Pushing the material off Teddy, his hands grazed over Teddy’s nipples and he felt as well as heard Teddy give a little growled noise of pleasure.

“Alpha,” he said again, reverently.

“Your Alpha,” Teddy confirmed, as James’s hands dropped to his hips and he pushed Teddy’s trousers and pants off.

Teddy’s cock was hard and heavy, the knot already swelling at its base. James heard himself whine at the sight of it, at his need. He knew he couldn’t get wet, not outside of heat, but somehow his arse felt like it was slick and ready for Teddy.

“I… I want you inside me,” he said, dropping his head as he did so.

Maybe he was still a little bit shy, but he offered up his shyness to Teddy. It was part of who he was, and he was giving Teddy everything. Few people would have called James Potter shy, and the willingness to acknowledge that side of himself to his Alpha was something an earlier James would never have thought he could do.

“That’s right,” Teddy said, his fingers digging hard into James’s skin.

Teddy was loving and rough; and feeling the way Teddy allowed his fingers to do what they would with him, James realised how much Teddy had held back before. Ashamed, he’d said. Not wanting to acknowledge who he was and what he wanted, when actually this was everything James wanted. He wanted the pain-pleasure-domination that Teddy would give.

“I want _you_ ,” James said, looking up at Teddy. Wanting to fall to his knees beside the bed and show his Alpha just how much.

“I’m going to get you all loose and wet,” Teddy said, casting a wandless, wordless spell which left James once more in awe of his magic as he felt himself slick up for real. “Then you’re going to fuck yourself on my cock, Jamie.” He kissed James, the passion swirling through James like a hurricane. The scent of Teddy was as over-whelming as it ever had been – everything James had ever wanted. “I’ll sit back and let you sink down on me, show me how much you want it.” His voice lowered. “Then… then I’ll turn you over until you’re under me and fuck you so hard, so much.”

“Oh gods, Teddy, please.”

James could feel the erratic nature of his own magic as it flared and twisted with the need flowing through him at Teddy’s words. Teddy slid a hand round James, pushing a finger gently but firmly into his arse. James bore down on it, desperate to feel his lover inside him.

“More, more.”

The words were his but James was barely aware of speaking them. All he could think of was Teddy and their connection. Teddy’s finger breached James, readying him for what James wanted more than he wanted to breathe. Teddy slid the finger back and forth through the wetness inside James, adding a second finger only moments before James was going to break and beg for it. A third, and James was gasping and mouthing at Teddy’s shoulder, his head sunk down onto it as Teddy murmured words of praise and encouragement, sending blood to James’s cock in a way which should have been impossible. He was so hard, so needy. So – so _Teddy’s_.

“Come on, baby,” Teddy said at last, four fingers pushing past James’s entrance. “Show me how much you want me inside you.”

James could smell Teddy’s arousal, the scent of it filling his nostrils. Teddy wanted this, too. But Teddy was removing his fingers, and James whined with the loss, feeling empty and needy.

“I’ve something better to put inside you,” Teddy murmured, putting one hand to the side of James’s head and lifting it so that he could smile at his boyfriend. “Fuck yourself on me, James.”

James positioned himself over Teddy, feeling strangely exposed as he sank down onto Teddy’s hard prick. He felt himself trembling with sensation: every centimetre made him want more until he thrust down hard against Teddy, feeling the knot push against his rim.

“Teddy.”

His eyes were wide and he looked pleadingly at Teddy, who was touching, touching, _touching_ him, here and everywhere and nowhere quite enough. James wanted to crawl inside Teddy, physically become part of him.

“I need… I need...”

He leaned forward, baring his neck to Teddy, wanting to be bitten, claimed, possessed. Teddy was rocking his hips, fucking him gently and making James’s mind fuzz over with desire.

“Own me,” James whispered.

Teddy bit into his neck, sucking hard, so that James was whimpering and gasping. All the time his hips continued to jerk slowly, so that James didn’t know whether more sensation was coming from the feel of Teddy’s possession of his neck or his arse, or his own hard, leaking cock, pressing between himself and Teddy. Teddy pulled back at last from his neck and looked deep into James’s eyes, an expression there which James had never seen before.

“I _do_ own you,” he said, his voice low and almost ferocious in its power. “Mine, James. Mine.”

James could feel it in his soul, taking over him. Teddy, their bond, their love.

“Yes.” One word, meaning so much.

“Turn over. Let me take every bit of you,” Teddy said.

James turned, arranging himself on all fours, legs spread, shamelessly begging to be taken. He needed it, and it was right – everything about this, submitting to Teddy, was right. Teddy was ruthless in his possession of him, thrusting hard. The knot slipped inside, stretching James beyond measure.

“You can take it, Jamie,” Teddy encouraged, his voice still thick with desire. “Take it all.”

James knew he was babbling, pleading and begging for Teddy as he pushed back against his lover, forcing the knot totally inside him, binding them together. Teddy reached round to stroke James’s cock with slick fingers, and the need was building inside James, almost too strong to control. Higher, closer, fizzing through his body and settling in his centre. But he needed -

“Can I -?” He couldn’t manage more.

He was Teddy’s to command, just Teddy’s.

“Come for me, Jamie;” and Teddy followed his command by forcing James’s head back, biting into his neck once more in that way which always undid James.

Crying, actually crying, he spurted helplessly in Teddy’s hand. He could feel Teddy’s mouth, warm on his neck, feel the moment that his Alpha started coming inside him, the knot swollen and filling him. Teddy loosened his mouth and groaned deeply against James, a noise which sent shivers like aftershocks through the young man. Teddy, groaning for him. His Alpha needing him, needing this possession just as James did. The knot tied them, made them one as Teddy wrapped strong arms around James, holding him close. James slid forward so that he was lying on his front, Teddy draped over his back, heavy and warm. Owning him, still joined together.

“Teddy, Teddy, Teddy.” James could do nothing but repeat his name, over and over, like a mantra.

“Yes. Shh.”

Teddy was still wrapped around him, enfolding him, gentler now he’d started to come. James knew that although his first orgasm seemed over, as long as the knot was still swollen, part of Teddy was still lost to it. But it was a gentle, lazy sensation, it seemed – less intense than the shorter, strong ones which James experienced.

“I’ve got you, Jamie. I love you,” Teddy said quietly.

“Teddy.” James wanted to say the words back, but his mouth seemed stuck on the one word of Teddy’s name. His Alpha. His love. His everything.

“Mmm.” Teddy shifted them sideways so that they were spooned together. “Don’t want to crush you,” he said teasingly, kissing James’s neck. Now that the claiming had been so clearly done, even though Teddy was still knotted to James, he was less – less all-consuming. “You okay?” Teddy added; then took a sharp breath as another wave of his orgasm swept through him.

James hummed, feeling the come filling him further. Teddy filled him so full, in so many ways. “Oh yeah,” he said.

He, too, was drifting gently backwards from the peak of desire. It had a different joy. It was not so overwhelming, but he could enjoy it in a different way, bathing in his love for Teddy and his certainty that Teddy loved him – that Teddy was as bound to him as he to Teddy. He knew it, soul-deep. This had broken any last boundary they had: both of them had given everything to their coupling, holding nothing back. He could no more doubt Teddy than doubt that the world existed. They were what they were. James was what he was.

“I wouldn’t change,” he said, wrapping his foot around Teddy’s ankle as they lay there.

“Hmm?”

Teddy was half-gone still, his brain still wired on their joining. James couldn’t forget it, but there was more in him. Somehow, afterwards, he felt more himself, not less. The more he gave to Teddy, the more he felt himself become. Being an Omega – being _Teddy’s_ Omega – didn’t diminish him, it made him better. Like – the comparison made James smile – like the best Quidditch teams, the sum of the parts, the players, did not equal the sum of the team. Together, they were more. Stronger.

“I wouldn’t not be an Omega. I wouldn’t swap who I am.”

“They treat you so badly.”

“Yes,” James acknowledged. It would be ridiculous to deny it. “But they can’t take _this_ away.”

Teddy gave a little moan as his body jerked against James’s. He’d been quieter on previous occasions, more reserved with his coming. He was sharing more now, not holding back any more.

“I’m not worth that,” Teddy said, his arms cradling James gently, so unlike the fierceness of his earlier passion. James loved both parts of his Alpha.

“To me you are. Am I to you?”

“You know you are,” Teddy said, simply and with obvious sincerity. “But I don’t have to put up with the same things that you do.”

“No,” James said. “You just give up your job for my sake; you want to take on the Ministry for me.” He leaned his head back, nuzzling against Teddy. “You’re the one who said to trust this, and I am. I do. No one, Teddy” - his voice lowered with the depth of his feeling, his realisation - “no one has a bond like this. We – they think they’ve taken everything from me, but you give me… no, _together_ … we are something so much more. Do I hate and resent the regulations, the stigma? Of course I do. But what I have is so much more precious than what I’ve lost.” He gave a little laugh. “I’m greedy – both would be best, of course. But I wouldn’t swap.”

“How did a seventeen year old get so wise?” Teddy asked, half-teasing. But he pressed kisses to James’s neck - and little nips: Teddy was still a bit possessive, it seemed, even now. James liked that. “I’ve felt bad, because I get everything – Alpha status, and you, and – this. It felt as if you had everything taken from you. But – ohhh,” his words were interrupted by another burst of orgasm. James wondered how it must feel to have it go on and on like that – waves rippling over, unlike the riptide of James’s own zenith. Teddy’s arms clutched tighter for a second or two. Then he continued, “But I know you mean it. I can’t help but know,” he added apologetically. “And believe me, I’m going to fight to get you everything you want, or as near as I can.” He kissed James again. “I love you, Jamie. Now and forever.”

“I know.”

James was seventeen and six months old, and lying in bed with his soul-mate, when his life fell together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! You can show your appreciation for the author in a comment here or on [livejournal](http://hp-nextgen-fest.livejournal.com/102167.html).


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